Don't Fear the Reaper-Nick Groff fanfic
by GhostAdventuresfan09
Summary: Times have changed and friendships become strained between a renowned trio of paranormal investigators, the Ghost Adventures Crew, not long after investigating the Demon House, Nick had gone his separate ways after an immense falling out with Zak. No home? No family? No friends? Only one ally remains as his only chance of salvation and solace. Nick X OC
1. Chapter 1-Nick's Departure

Nick's Departure

The soft, white ambient glow of a computer screen draped the basement walls as Nick sat at his desk. Hands rested by the keyboard, fingers rubbing with thoughts and sub thoughts on what to write.

 _How could it come to this?..._

Nick sighed as he sat in his office, his warm brown half open while heavy with sorrow. His heart slow as the pain of the barer of bad news pressed down, knowing that thousands if not millions of people will be affecting by what he was about to write on his Twitter and Facebook page.

Reluctantly, his fingers begin clacking on the letters. After about five minutes, it read as his eyes scanned the screen.

" _Thank you everyone for your support through the years! I'm writing to say that I will no longer be a part of Ghost Adventures on Travel Channel. I am honored to have helped build an amazing paranormal phenomenon that has touched people's lives all around the world. I am continuing to research and investigate all things paranormal as I start the journey through the next stage of my Life. Much respect and love to all my GAC and Ghost Adventures fans. See you all soon_."

Clicking the send icon was the hardest thing so far, especially once a flood of notifications and messages came on his pages.

Knowing fans will ask what happened, he decided it was best to keep as much to himself as possible to spare the pain of betrayal…betrayal of what who was his friend, Zak Bagans.

The Demon House in Indiana was an intense investigation and knowing how badly the family with children was affected by an evil presence. The activity was too intense even for Zak and Nick had already disliked what was happening to the reality show he worked so hard to accomplish, no longer was it about collecting evidence…it was a dance with the devil. Zak felt that's what the fans wanted and the ratings sky rocket whenever episodes featuring evil beings came on, and being the confrontational type he was, Zak would never back down from opportunities to call them out.

But to Nick, a line was already crossed when at the Fear Factory when they had a staff member read from a dark bible and…despite the verses being bleeped out, Nick couldn't help but be worried of the innocent fans watching and falling victim to their irresponsible provocations. But now, they were in another location that had a portal to Hell within its walls. The entity spared not a single moment taunting the crew as they tried to document the paranormal activity; Zak started to get dry heaves as he felt drained of his energy, Nick felt a darkness surround him as his energy was also drained and as more crew members felt under attack, Zak reluctantly plugged the plug. Nick hoped this would convince Zak to shift away from the dark side of the paranormal, but he refused to do so even it meant costing the health of his team.

So while on break from filming Ghost Adventures, Nick felt it was time to move on and work on other TV projects to help him shake the negativity from the Demon House. Zak and Aaron found out that Nick was producing other shows, which caused a massive rift between him and Zak. Instead of Zak being happy for his friend for his success, jealousy and anger engulfed him. In a fit of rage, Zak bellowed for Nick to get out and was no more a part of Ghost Adventures. As he stepped away, he felt it was for the best since the nightmares of the Demon House may cease since he left the project.

But the nightmares were only beginning…

Meanwhile in Zak's home, his jealousy consumed his dreams and did not want to stop chasing evil entities. As he delved to the depths of his dungeon, the skulls and various gothic items were almost speaking to him…tempting him to give in his anger and sought revenge on his former friend for his actions. Zak lowered his head by the candles on his mantle as he felt a shadow cast over him, giving in and blacking out. He awoke in his bed, wandering what happened thinking it was a lucid dream acting out his subconscious desire to lash out. But little does he know…it wasn't a dream.


	2. Chapter 2-Loss of Family

**_Author's note : Trigger warning, you've been warned_**

* * *

Chapter 2

Loss of a Family

Things weren't going well, Nick's nightmares had got worse to the point where his wife, Veronique could see in his eyes that something dark had attached to him. She had been around Nick and his paranormal endeavors to know when he wasn't himself. Finally one night as he and Veronique slept in their master bedroom, loud bangs and heavy inhuman footsteps could be heard just outside the door.

 _The girls!_

Nick thought as he leapt to his feet, letting his dogs run first in case it was human. But as the canines sniffed out the dark halls, Nick scanned the dark to the bedrooms. Annabelle and Chloe were sound asleep, softly breathing in a deep slumber.

"Nick, did you find anything?" Veronique whispered.

"No, nothing." He replied. But his sixth sense was still telling him that something wasn't right. Back in the master room, he grabbed his digital recorder.

"I don't normally do this, but this…I need answers." He said to himself as he isolated himself in his basement office.

As he pressed record, his mind raced with a dozen thoughts as his voice vibrated in nervousness.

"Who are you?" He paused, "what do you want with me?"

Sitting in silence, he scanned the dark hoping nothing would come out and ambush him.

"Why are you here? Go back where you came from, leave my family alone."

After fumbling with the recorder to play it back, he lifted the recorder to his ear and listen for anything in response.

 _"Who are you? What do you want with me?"_

A split second of silence, then a quiet raspy voice bellowed from the white noise.

 _Remember me…house?_

Not making sense of what he captured, he listened further.

 _"Why are you here? Go back where you came from, leave my family alone."_

This time, an immediate response came through with anger.

 _No! You will…suffer!_

Terrified by this aggressive voice, Nick promptly ran upstairs to his wife and showed her what he found. He could see the horror in her eyes and fear for their daughters' safety ran through their minds.

"We have to get the house blessed and rid our home of this thing…" Nick replied.

But Veronique wasn't so sure…

"Nick, what if…it's not attached to the house? What if you're the one that's haunted?"

Taken aback by that notion, he struggled to comprehend how this could be the case since he hasn't done any dark cases for a month…but he remembered what Bishop James Long told him and the guys that evil beings like these won't come when told, they'll come when they choose and make your life miserable.

So for his family's sake, he tried to contact anyone who could rid him of this malevolent entity. But whenever anyone tried to help, they would get attacked then Nick would be violently attacked in his dreams which left bruises and scratches on his body.

A few weeks passed, Nick went to drop off the girls at a neighbor's house for a play date since he had to run to his Boston office for work that day. He was tired from lack of sleep but he wanted to ignore what was happening. His head felt as though a dozen voices were screaming, but he pushed through it knowing he wasn't a quitter. Veronique was able to get off work early and after they picked up the girls, Nick pulled up to the driveway and as she got the girls buckled up, his vision felt darker and hearing distorted.

"Nick, honey…you alright?" Seeing his head wobble slowing then abruptly stopped, staring at her then the girls. In a lightless gaze, he shifted gears and said nothing as he pulled away. Once home, the girls ran off to play but the dogs were growling and barking at Nick. Veronique glanced again, it wasn't Nick anymore.

"What?" He said,

"Come on." She grabbed his wrist.

As they stepped into their room, she wanted to inspect what was going on without the children seeing it.

"Nick?"

He stared more into her eyes, coming closer and towering over her.

"What's a matter?" He said in an imitating voice, no more the warm voice of her darling husband.

"Nick, think of our kids. They need you, don't give up now."

"Don't- Don't give up?! You think I'm not fighting this thing every night?!" He shouted as she tried to quiet him down.

"Shh, Nick-"

He ripped off his shirt, revealing bruises and scratching.

"This is what they do to me, you can't help me and anyone who does gets hurt…we tried everyone we can think of!"

Tears began to flow from her eyes, breaking her heart to see the man she loved disappear right in front of her.

"Nick, what's happened to you?"

"Every since I left Zak and Aaron, I've trying to find other work to keep this roof over our heads and now it's pretty clear, you don't appreciate that, do you?!"

"Nick…how can you say that?" She outstretched her arm to touch his face, but he snatched her arms, clamping down hard in rage.

"Oww, Nick let go."

"Why? What are you gonna do, huh?"

He leaned his face close, but swift _smack_ stopped the voices in his head. As he released his grip, he blinked and saw the clearer of his terrified wife with her skin as white as a sheet.

"V-Veronique, what's wrong? What happened?" His warm, loving voice returned, concerned and scared on why his wife was so scared then he saw the red mark on her arm.

"Oh my God, Veroni- you, you know I would never-"

"You keep away from me…" She spoke in shaky voice, huge tears rolling down her eyes.

"Veronique, please…I'm so sor-"

He tried to apologize, knowing he would never lay a hand on his wife. But show couldn't bear to even look at him. She grabbed her purse and car keys, and turned to Nick.

"I'm taking the girls to my mother's for the night. As for you…until you get rid of whatever it is that's attached to you…get out of this house."

"Wha? Babe, wait. We can't just separate, we need to stick together. It wants us to be apart."

"Is it worth mine and the girls safety to endure this…thing?" She argued.

He paused, realizing he nearly harmed his wife and who knows what he could do to his precious daughters?

"You're right, maybe…we should-"

He burst into tears, knowing he's losing his family now.

"I'm sorry, Nick but I have to take care of myself and the kids."

He wiped his face, and spoke before she stepped out into the hall.

"Wait, please let me say goodbye first."

She nodded and as she called the girls to pack a bag, they raced to their rooms with smiles on their faces. Nick waited with a swollen heart, seeing his pride and joy about to leave his life for an unknown length of time.

"Okay, girls. Let's go!" Veronique called out.

"Is Daddy coming, too?" Annabelle asked in her sweet, innocent voice.

"No, not this time. But we'll see each other soon. Come give Daddy a hug."

He enveloped them both in big hug, Annabelle and Chloe were everything to him but it seemed to be the right thing to protect them. Annabelle felt moisture on her father's cheeks and broke free,

"Daddy, why are you crying?"

"I'm just gonna miss my girls so much, you both be good at Grandma's and listen to your mother."

"Yes, Daddy." The girls said in unison.

Veronique guided them out the door and into the car, Nick was now alone as they pulled away.

He called around for a neighbor to pet sit for a while until Veronique returned home since he has to go away for a while.

As he packed his bags, he saw the dark gloomy night outside and could think of the one place to go since his parents weren't an option.

 _Las Vegas, Neveda_


	3. Chapter 3-Vegas Stag Party

Vegas Stag Party

Nick's life wasn't exactly better when he flew back to Vegas, wanting to avoid Zak and Aaron like the Black Plague so he kept away from their usual pastime areas. He was staying with a friend who tried to show him a good around Vegas, but everywhere he looked were reminders of his former life.

 _Why did I come here?_

He thought, thinking Vegas was a chance to start over but…it wasn't.

Seeing his melancholy mood, his friend, Matt Bailey tried something different to perk Nick from his couch slumber.

"Come on, let's go out. My friend is having a stag party and you should go too. Get out of the house."

Nick scoffed, knowing it would most likely mean to going to a Strip Club. This is Las Vegas, the city of sin so of course, this was the only thing on their minds.

"Come on, man. I'm dealing with so much, I really don't want to be surrounded by women…besides I'm still married."

"But you're separated so you can still be a man and enjoy yourself." Matt replied, making smirk in discomfort and disgust.

He's kind of right, who knows what will happen between him and Veronique now? He nearly attacked her while under the influence of very dark energy.

 _We made vows to stay together til death, but…she hasn't contacted me since that night. I…guess I could accompany Matt as a friend since he's trying to be nice, but one condition…_

Nick thought to himself as he spoke,

"I'll go with you, but I won't participate with the girls."

"Sure, man. Let's go."

A few minutes later and they got into his car as night fell, lights of numerous neon colors lit up the sky. As they rode down the dark expressway, the empty space in the pit of his stomach lurched seeing the various monuments he filmed years ago for his marriage proposal to Veronique, showing he would search the world to find her. But now, that may become a ghost of the past of their relationship. Still not wanting to be rude, he decided to go through with the party.

Upon arrival, Nick saw the guys huddle together around a table and after a short introduction, he slowly slipped away from the group as the show girls came to them for a good time. Heading to the bar, he sat on a stool and made his order of the night. One of the show just happened to walk up to the same bar and glance at Nick, liking that slick dark brown guido hair.

 _Ooh, he's a cutie…_

The bartender handed Nick his drink as he twirled his wedding band on his hand, then feeling eyes on him. Glancing over, he grabbed his drink and sipped it trying to signal he wasn't interested.

But ignored those signals and came over to him slowly and sat next to him, back to the bar.

"Hi there, you new here?" She spoke, trying to get him to loosen up.

He glanced again, seeing her ginger afro hair and dark brown eyes in a light purple bikini. A silk shawl draped over her arms as she rested them on the table.

"Yeah…I just came for my friend."

"That's good, he's lucky to have a friend like you." She stroked his shoulders as he sat motionless. She caressed his shoulders and spun him around, using her shawl to draw him close around his neck. He shook his head in disinterest, not wanting to be offensive.

"Look, thanks…but I'm still married."

"Oh, really? So why don't you make me leave?" The temptress slicked the shawl closer as she drew closer to him, almost in intimate distance.

Nick glanced down, his heart throbbing in fear. No way is this the right answer.

"No, please." He grabbed by the arms and pushed her off gently, smelling her perfume.

"Look, you're nice and all. But I just…can't."

He walked away, the blaring music muffled as the door shut behind him. Needing some air and would wait out until his "friend" was finished. He would rather wait in the chill night than go back in there.

 _Maybe Vegas wasn't such a good idea after all…_

Nick thought to himself, realizing his mistake. But where could he go next?

He glanced upwards to the clear sky and could barely make out stars amongst the light pollution, almost reminding him of another city with bright night life. Then realized in that same city is one friend that lives there.

Slipping his phone from his pocket and scrolling through the contacts pages, he found the number he needed and hit dial. Realizing it was after midnight, it may go to voicemail but this was his last option.

As the voice message concluded, he spoke after the deep tone.

"Hey, hey. It's me. Look, I realize this comes on short notice, but you're the only place I have left. Can you…hit up when you can? Thanks, bye."

He hung up and a few minutes passed, he continued to glance upwards at the stars. Getting no response yet, he waited in his leather-lined jacket zipped up until Matt came out. Taking Nick back to his place, he explained what happened and why he needs to leave Vegas if the person he called can help him. He laid on the couch, sleepless. Tossing around on the sheet-lined couch until a _buzz_ from his phone, glancing down at the ambient glow revealed a text message.

 _Hey Nick, got your voicemail. I'll call you in the morning, is everything okay?_

 _Not really, things have taken a bad turn and I have nowhere to go._ He texted a reply, then the typing icon came on before another response.

 _Oh, really? Well, yeah…let me know as soon as you can and we'll figure something out, I got room for one more at my place and could use the company myself. Try to sleep and we'll talk soon, okay Nick?_

Smiling a bit in relief, he typed some more.

 _Thank you for this, you really are a good friend. See you soon._

 _No problem, see you soon._

Clicking his phone, the next flight he could book wasn't until next later in the week, but he could now rest knowing he does have one friend out there.


	4. Chapter 4-Seeking Answers

Seeking Answers

Nick decided to bunk at Matt's house for the rest of his stay but feeling bad that the stag party went sour, Matt asks Nick if he wants to check out a local haunted place to rekindle his spirits.

Though reluctant, Nick opts to go ahead with it. Maybe he can find out what's been haunting him. Strangely when he got to Vegas, his nightmares and tormenting reduced drastically. But why, plagued his mind every moment.

Later that night, Matt and Nick with other guys walked into a house that resembled a castle. As they walked into the darkness, Matt recited the history of the place but Nick wasn't paying attention…feeling the energy go heavy like they were under water. As he turned to mention it, he saw one of the guys holding a Ouija board…

 _Oh, you've got to be kidding…_

He felt uncomfortable using it since the memories from the last time he used one it caused havoc on his last adventure, but they encouraged him to go along. After much coaxing and feeling it may identify what's attached to him, he reluctantly placed his hands on the cursor as they spun it clockwise three times.

Matt went first,

"Who's here?"

Nothing, then another question.

"When did you die?"

Silence once more, then a slow movement of the cursor moved to Yes.

"What is your name?"

The cursor moved to No, Nick's heart gorged with fear.

"Why won't you tell us your name?" Matt asked,

The cursor didn't move an inch, so he asked another question.

"What do you want?"

The cursor moved as they spelled:

"N-I-C-K"

"Why Nick?"

It spelled next,

"S-U-F-F-E-R"

"Suffer."

"Where did you come from, why are you torturing me?" Nick asked having enough of the games.

The cursor spelled letter by letter,

"D-E-M-O-N H-O-U-S-E" then "I-F-O-L-L-O-W-Y-O-U. Demon House, I follow you."

Nick's chest raced with a throbbing meaty punch, blood gushed through his ribs.

Then the cursor spelled,

"I-W-I-L-L-R-E-T-U-R-N. I will return."

The guys quickly requested the entity to move to Goodbye, though it moved to No several times. Finally, Nick snapped.

"Look, you son of a bitch! You move to Goodbye now! Leave me alone!"

Finally, the cursor moved to Goodbye but Nick knew better…this wasn't over.

Nick explained to them what happened at his last investigation with Zak and Aaron, he and Veronique had separated without seeing his daughters until he could rid of this dangerous entity. But Vegas was no place to pull himself together from all of his problems, so Matt fully supported Nick's reasoning to leave.

Later that night, as Nick walked the Vegas strip alone as floods of people passed him in the street, he saw a Church nearby. Even though they're mostly filled with young drunk couples getting fling married in Vegas, it was better than nothing. He had to take care of before he left, he left apprehensive to step inside but pushed on using his will to live driving each step closer.

Finally inside the church with stained glass windows gleaming from the night life outside, he sat in a pew and crossed his arms over the one in front. Staring at the religious figures around him, he sighed in desperation.

 _Maybe one of you can help me…please._

Just then, a soft male voice spoke next to him.

"Hello there, you're a new face."

Nick looked up at the black robed man, tall earth brown hair with dark brown eyes behind his rectangular spectacles.

"Hi, I'm Nick." He shook his hand.

"Father George."

He sat next to Nick, seeing that look of a lost soul in his eyes. Nick told him everything that happened, as Father George listened closely, he nodded with intent.

"Well, Nick. I personally don't believe in possession or attachment, do have any history of mental illness?" Asking bluntly, Nick looked startled by this suggestion.

"Father, what are you saying?"

"My son, there are no such thing as a true possession. Only people who believe they are, and those people have untreated-"

Nick interrupted him,

"Look, Father. No offense, but I investigate things like this for a living and I can tell you that I have no mental illness of any kind."

"Now, my son. I do believe in encouragement of prayer to influence people to get the help they need for mental issues. Never before in my five years in being a priest have I encountered real possessions and each one I had was mistaken for medical reasons."

Nick shook his head in disbelief, standing up in defiance.

"You really don't get it, I wish you a better man than you are…and God help those you seek your advice when real spiritual problems arise. Because they exist, whether you believe or not."

Nick walked down the aisle, Father George stared out after him while stunned by the revelation he just received. Nick paced outside the doors, huffing breaths of frustration.

 _I ask for help and I get that?! Please God, send me anyone who can actually help!_

He prayed in his mind, just then a police patrol car pulled up to him.

"Hey man, you alright?" The friendly officer spoke out from his window.

Nick looked at him and saw the most striking blue eyes he'd ever seen, sending a wave of calm over him. Something he hadn't felt for over a month, the officer stepped out and tried to initiate a conversation with him.

"Everything okay, buddy?"

"Yeah," Nick replied, " Was just inside that church, asking for advice and that-that-so called priest doesn't believe what I'm saying."

Nick looked over and saw the officer's name badge, Mike A.

"What's your name, man?"

"Nick, Nick Groff."

"Well, Nick. It's pretty late, do you have a safe way to get home."

"No, I walked here from my friend's house where I'm staying." Nick gave him the address.

"Well, hop in. I was just on my way in that direction for a coffee break, I'll give you a ride." Officer Mike replied.

Nick nodded in compliance,

"Thank you."

They got into his patrol car and rode down the Vegas strip, remaining silent until the officer broke the silence once more.

"So what brings you to Vegas?"

At this point, Nick was pretty sick of repeating his sob story but the officer glanced in his mirror, seeing the glance of a man who almost rid of life.

"Been through a lot. Huh?"

"Yeah, you could saw that. It often feels like no one can hear me, especially here. You know, with all the casinos, gambling and rowdy parties."

"I hear ya, man. So you're looking to leave soon?"

He nodded.

"Yeah, I have a friend on the East Coast who's willing to let me stay in the meantime."

"Well, that sounds like you've a great friend there. People like that are rare, cherish them."

Nick nodded and glanced out the window, they stopped at a light. Nick then glanced down seeing a medal dangling from the officer's mirror.

"What's that?" He asked, pointing to it.

The officer caressed it in his hand, clearly he valued this piece with his life.

"It's Archangel Michael, my namesake. He's the patron saint of the police, and man, he has saved my life more times than I can count on this job."

"That's crazy. You believe in angels?" Nick asked.

"Oh, yeah. No question God exists, he works in mysterious ways. Maybe this friend of yours giving a place to stay is his way of helping you."

"Maybe…"

Nick hoped as the patrol came to a stop,

"Here you go, Nick."

They shook hands,

"Thanks, Mike. I appreciate it."

"My pleasure." Before Nick slid out, he spoke up one last thing.

"And Nick?"

"Yep."

"You take care of yourself and remember that you're never alone…ever."

He nodded and waved at him as he pulled away. Nick laid in his couch, knowing he was leaving this forsaken place soon and at least one person believed him. Tomorrow was flight to freedom, his final destination…

 _New York City…_


	5. Chapter 5-Searching for Solace

Looking out the airborne window, Nick gazed at the setting sun while the icy rain pelted the glass. His ear buds plunged into his ears, emitting some of his favorite Spotify playlists. Hoping music could soothe the desperation and loneliness he felt, but trying to remember he was on his way to the one person that could offer assistance.

The pilot came over the loud speaker, announcing that they would be descending soon and welcoming the passengers to New York. He gathered his bags as he headed down the aisle, occasionally letting people pass him to reach their luggage since he wasn't in any hurry.

As he exited the plane, he slipped his phone from his chest pocket. He sent a quick text,

 _Hey, just landed. Gotta go to baggage claim then will get a taxi. See you soon._

Hitting Send, he slipped his phone and walked down to where his bag was passed around by the conveyer belt. Grabbing it, he headed outside where he saw passing taxi cars _whooshing_ through the rain, spewing puddles of rain all over the place. Putting his hand up, one stopped but not before splashing a puddle and soaking his pant ankles.

 _Dah, f-_

Nick internally muttered as he gritted his teeth, but got inside. Just wanting to quit running around and get to his location. He gave the driver the address and they pulled away, Nick sat back grateful that the driver at least had the decency to turn on the heat in this chilly weather that matched his current mood.

Meanwhile in an apartment, not far from the airport, a small figure walked through the kitchen to the cooking counter. A pair of hands was gently slicing some vegetables and pours them into the roasting pan before placing it in the oven, placing some fresh sheets on the spare bed and some folded towels on the corner, wanting to make everything as welcoming as possible.

Not long after setting the table, the screech of tires could be heard just over the soft, calming music emitting from the laptop.

A hand glistening with moisture knocked on the main door, hoping someone would answer. Then the door opens, and Nick sees a familiar face, someone hadn't seen in what seemed forever ago.

"Nick, you made it. Come on in, dry off." A soft voice encouraged him, he took up for offer but carefully walked in with his rain soaked bags.

"Sorry, I'm possibly ruining your floors."

"No, don't be. I can wipe that up so go ahead, you go make yourself comfortable. Guest room is down the hallway to the left, bathroom is the next door over." Pointing down the brightly lit hall.

"Thanks." Nick said, slipping off his shoes then carrying his luggage to the room. It was immaculate, clean and well kept. Clearly, this was meant for him.

Zipping off his jacket, he saw the towels nicely folded.

Smiling at the kindness of his host, he grabbed and decided to shower up. The steam and hot water came splattering down on his cool skin, alleviating the cold chill from the rain. Scrubbing the lavender soap made snicker, not every man uses it a scent like this but it might be all his host has for soap. Besides the fact it had a nice, mellow calming scent so he decided to use it for now until he could get his usual soap. Squeaking the knobs off, he stepped out and wrapped himself in his crisp towels.

Drying off into fresh clothes, he stepped into the hall and could smell the savory scent of a home cooked meal. Seeing his host place the steamy plate of delectable roasted meat, he sniffed the air with his mouth watering.

"Ooh, what's this?" He asked, approaching the dinner table. Looking to his left, he gazed up as he began to recognize more features of the figure before him.

A small, petite female in casual attire of a contemporary, archaic designed shirt and blue jeans stood with radiance in her demeanor. Brushing her long, sandy blonde hair back with her small hands. Her cobalt rectangular spectacles glistened in front of her small fern green eyes that emitted the essence of a kind, caring soul.

Memories of a small teenager that become a member of his Ghost Adventures team began flooding back and stunned by how much time had passed since he last saw her. Not to mention, she had grown physically a bit.

"Aura? Is that really you?" Nick smiled with a cheerful grin,

"Yeah, but I go by Aurora now. I changed my name back after deciding to fully accept who I was. I never liked my name, but when my Dad explained why he named me Aurora…I don't know…it just felt right."

"Yeah, what did he say?" Wanting to know more.

"Well, after I survived my harrowing premature birth, he searched for unique names since he felt I was special. Aurora means dawn, like I brought new light to his life and he sensed that I'll do the same for others one day."

"Ooh, well. That's very sweet. But why did you change it years ago?" Nick replied.

She gave a gaze like she didn't want to talk about it, clearly there was some emotional baggage.

"Sorry, I didn't mean-" He started to say, but she stopped him.

"No, it's okay. I just don't want to dwell on it, things are different now."

Nick nodded, understanding her wish. Maybe what she had to say would only damper the reunion so he opted to change the subject.

"Y-you made this yourself?" Indicating the scrumptious delicacies on the table.

"Oh, yeah. Yep, go ahead. Dig in."

Nick's lips licked at the sight of the pleasant food before them, they sat down across from each other. Each clumping food on their plates, Nick took a bite.

"Mmm, how did you learn to cook this?"

"Grandma's recipe, Beef Pot Roast and veggies. She taught me a lot while I was in College."

"Nice." He gulped some more, loving each bite. Nostalgic for homemade meals, certainly better the cardboard tasting microwavable dinners that he ate in Vegas.

"Can I offer you anything to drink?"

She offered as she stood up to the kitchen.

"Yeah, tea would be great."

They sat on the couch, watching TV. Nick fully satisfied with the meal, clasped his tea in his hands. When a commercial featuring a new episode of Ghost Adventures flashed on the screen, Nick turned away, recognizing it as the Demon House. Feeling nauseous, he grabbed his stomach, Aurora shut off the TV as concern raged through her system.

"Nick? Are you okay?" She asked,

"Yeah," He paused, trying to collect himself.

"I…I need to tell something…"

He explained everything that happened from leaving Ghost Adventures to why he called her.

"Oh, jeez. Sorry to hear that. I mean…" She started, but Nick knew where she was going.

"Yeah, I know. You're still working with Ghost Adventures and I told you, we can still be friends. I wouldn't let Zak get between that."

"If it's only consolation, Nick. I think I'm gonna leave too eventually, I don't like the dark turn the show has taken." Aurora said in her own defense.

"Neither do I, but I understand why you stayed even after I left. Just do me favor…" Nick requested,

"Anything."

"Don't-don't tell Zak I'm staying with you. He'll drag you into a fight that won't end well."

"I promise you that he'll never know and I don't want dark cases either, I had to bless my apartment myself just a few months ago."

Nick could sense it as he scanned the area, there was nothing lingering here. Within the walls was just a calm, warm place to call home. In the back of his mind, he was concerned if whatever was out for him would harm her too, but she had a vibe that she could look after herself.

Feeling drowsy from traveling, he placed his tea down on the table and turned to her.

"Well, I'm gonna pack it in. Thanks." He gave her a half hug before walking down the hall.

"Stay as long as you need, we'll figure this out." She assured, Nick turned back and smiled.

Stepping into his room, he slumped onto his bed and nuzzled under the covers. Grateful for the hospitality he had been given, but knew this wasn't forever.

Deep in the night, he was awoken out of a deep sleep. Rubbing his eyes, he thought he saw someone standing at his bed.

"Aurora?"

No response then the shadow darted towards him with lighting speed right at him. Pinning him to his bed, a low growling voice in an aggressive voice.

" _Nick…give up!_!"

He jolted awake from his nightmare, gasping for air as his ribs throbbed fluids through his chest. Bounding from his bed, he inspected his arms and chest in his bathroom.

Scratches and bruises had returned.

He gasped in horror, fearing that this really was an attachment and he may have to live with it if it won't let him be free.

Needless to say, he didn't sleep much at all. Just wanting the nightmares to end.

 _But will it harm her next?_

Nick thought to himself, fearing for his friend's life. It already ripped him of a career, marriage, and two kids. But he decided to stay; he has absolutely nowhere to go now.


	6. Chapter 6-Need Some Sleep

The following morning, Nick rolled from his bed and could smell the glistening sweet scent of maple syrup and pancakes. Realizing that breakfast was being freshly made, he pushed himself to get up.

Groggy still, he walked down the kitchen.

"Morning." He yawned,

"Morning." Aurora replied, finishing up the last pancake. As she brought it to the table, she could see the dark circles under his eyes.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked in a soft tone,

"Didn't well last night…" He responded and as he reached for some syrup, she gasped and grabbed his arm upon noticing the bruises on his arm.

"Ahh, easy." Nick winced as he gently let her examine him.

"Were you attacked last night?" She asked,

"Yeah, I…tried to get rid of it but it won't leave me be. Everyone I ever tried to contact to help me rid of attachment, had something terrible happen to them. One even got in a bad car accident, but they're alive."

Aurora gasped in horror, and listened as he sighed in despair.

"Veronique left me and took the kids, I don't know if I'll ever see my girls again."

She frowned in sadness, knowing the pain of being separated from family who won't communicate with you.

"I'm sorry, Nick. But as long as you're here, I've got your back."

He smiled in reassurance,

"Thanks, I really appreciate that."

"So what are you doing now?" Nick asked her,

"I'm on a leave of absence from the show to attend a summer film internship in the city so I have something to fall back onto when I leave Ghost Adventures." She replied.

"Why an internship? You could probably get in on your own." Nick tilted in confusion,

"I'm still earning my Bachelor's Degree in Film, they wanted students so I had to join a University online course." She explained,

"Oh, so an Associate's Degree wouldn't cut it?" He nodded,

"Yeah, but it's okay. I'm graduating in the Fall so I'm almost done."

"Well, congratulations. You should be proud." Nick said with a smile,

"I am. But what about you, I'm gonna busy most days so what you do for work?" She asked,

"I'll figure it out, you know me." Nick replied,

She smiled, confident that this will be resolved somehow.

Later that morning, Aurora grabbed her keys and backpack.

"Okay, I'm heading out. You got my cell number if you need anything."

"Gotcha, good luck, kid." He said with smile.

She closed the door behind her and locked the door. As her footsteps trampled down the stairs, Nick flopped on her couch to watch TV trying to think what to do next. Then a flashy commercial for American Ninja Warrior came on.

 _Hey, I could do that. Maybe Veronique and the girls will see me doing better…maybe I can come home._

Realizing that working out could push back the negativity he's been feeling, he decided to go ahead and submit a video.

 _Maybe Aurora could help me, always good to have a camera operator._

So for hours, he spent time doing various workouts in the apartment and going for runs outside in the streets.

When Aurora finally returned home, Nick told her his idea and was thrilled to help him shoot it. Exhausted and exhilarated from his workouts, Nick went to take shower as Aurora checked her email in her room. As she explored her Facebook page, a video call blared from her screen.

The username read,

 _Zak Bagans_

"Oh, shit!"

 _Okay, be cool. Don't even tell him about Nick, just talk about school._

"Hey, kiddo. What's up?" Zak blared from her speakers, coming on screen at his dungeon.

"Not much, just got back from school. I'm exhausted from filming all day."

"Oh yeah, I told ya. It's a lot of hard work." He replied,

"Yeah, but it's worth it."

"So what are you up to? When are you coming back? Jay, Billy and everybody's been asking about you."

He asked, making her heart skip. Knowing she has to lie made her stomach lurch, but she took in a breath before speaking up.

"Well, I'm graduating in the fall so I'll keep you updated."

"Okay, well be safe out there."

She nodded then her eyes widened when she heard a toilet flush in the background. She jerked behind her, praying Nick wasn't behind her. With the hall empty, Zak spoke up.

"Hey, what's up? Who's at your place?" He asked curiously,

She scrambled her brains to find a buyable explanation,

"Oh, that's just my project partner, Jack. He's stopping by to run over some editing work with me." She lied,

"Oh, okay. Well, I'll let you go and let you two continue to work." He replied,

"Okay, see ya." She said quickly,

"Bye."

Ending the video call just as Nick entered the room, knocking on her door.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked softly,

"Yeah, Zak called me but don't worry, he's none the wiser."

He released a sigh of relief as she stood up from her computer desk.

"Shall we have dinner?" She asked,

"Yeah," Nick responded, "I don't mind having leftovers, that pot roast is soo good."

"Oh, yeah? All right, let's do it. Saves me from cooking."

He laughed, feeling pretty good that maybe he has a shot of ridding himself of this darkness if he stays around her positive attitude long enough.

As they sat on the couch, feasting on leftovers, Nick placed down his empty plate.

"Hey, Aurora. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." She placed her own plate down,

"Why did you change for first name?"

She had a feeling that conversation would return sooner or later, and adjusted her body to be more comfortable.

"Thing is, my Mom and Dad never married when they had me, she kept away from him as a kid and…let's just say she wasn't always the best Mom. She'd manipulate me to obey her or I'd never see my Dad and vice versa." She paused,

"So whenever she said my real name in her voice, it would make me cringe. Knowing it may never be uttered by someone loved me, so when I turned 18 and left home after high school. I legally changed my name so she couldn't track me down and to start over with a new life."

Nick glanced at her with a sympathetic gaze as she continued,

"So I went to community college to be a film student, saw your guys' contest for a winner to be on lockdown with you, Zak and Aaron…and the rest is history."

"Hmm…" Nick looked, connecting the dots. Realizing she changed her name back because she finally felt cared about. To her surprise, a warm, tender hand landed on her clasped hand in comforting gesture.

"Well, I think your real name is beautiful and very fitting."

"Thanks."

She blushed, heart racing to feel Nick's touch. The energy felt warm and inviting as did his brown, luscious eyes. He lifted his hand away as he stood, grabbing their empty plates to the sink.

Aurora began to turn red and caress her hand, trying not to make it obvious that she was euphoric. She always liked Nick, he was her favorite guy on the Ghost Adventures Crew. It almost seemed to fate that he was here now she had a safe place of her own, to help to get on his feet. Although…another part of her felt this was also a chance to live the fantasies that fangirls dream of.

 _What? What am I thinking? That's ridiculous, he's here to pull himself together. There's no way he'd be with someone like me anyway…_

She thought to herself, wanting to suppress those thoughts of taking advantage like that.

As they both prepared for sleep in each room, Nick slept fairly soundly for once while she laid awake. Wrestling between her desires and her heart screaming,

 _No, he's a friend and I don't want to scare him away. I'm sure he already with so many other fangirls desiring…although, Zak was pretty sought after by millions of rowdy hormonally raged teen girls._

Laughing lightly at that thought, she calmed down enough to realize that helping him was more important than the temptation.

Nuzzling to sleep, the warmth surrounded her, as Nick's smiling face was the last image she saw.


	7. Chapter 7-Give a Little Love

A few weeks passed since Nick first arrived, the video they made for American Ninja Warrior was sent off to the casting managers. Nick even started to reach out to people knew in his paranormal community to start some new shows.

Aurora continued to be supportive as possible, seeing him pull himself together slowly. Nick's nightly attacks seemed to dissipate, he actually got decent sleep.

Finally, Katrina Weidman from Paranormal State contacted Nick. They put together a sizzle reel and were ready to pitch it to anyone who would pick it up. Calling it Paranormal Lockdown, a 72-hour experience to discover groundbreaking evidence of the paranormal.

Proud of his accomplishments, Aurora focused on her own pursuits and to keep her mind off the man she can't have. The extensive amount of college work and spending hours at the internship kept her busy, but was always there when they met up at the apartment.

But gradually, Nick noticed that she seemed distant.

"Hey Aurora, what's up?" He asked, "Am I a bother to you?"

"Oh no, never. Just swamped by all the work I have to do." She replied with a half lie, not wanting reveal the true nature what was going through her mind.

He nodded,

"Okay then, how about we go out to the city? You should take a break once in a while, slow down and have some fun."

"Sure, I know this great bowling alley on 83rd street."

Intrigued, the duo headed to the glistening towers of the city that never sleeps. After arriving to their building, Nick paid for the lanes and shoes. Aurora ran off to grab them a spot as he grabbed their bowling balls.

"Here, kiddo. A light one for you." He handed her a brightly colored one, knowing that a regular one may be too much strain on her arms.

"Thanks."

Nick stood in front of the lane and threw the ball down the floor, sliding down and clacking pins down with a few still up. Try as he might, he missed them a second time.

Then Aurora's turn came up, this time she hit strikes a few times. Igniting Nick's competitive spirit, he shook in disbelief.

"Okay, what's your secret? Not cheating, are you?"

"What, cheating? No, I bowled a lot as a kid." She laughed,

"All right then, let's just see who can play best at bowling."

"Is that a bet?" She asked,

"You wanna bet on it? Okay, loser has to…give the winner full bragging rights." Nick challenged,

"You're on."

They shook hands as she took another stroke down the lanes, Nick shook his head in impression.

For over an hour, they kept playing since the scores were close and with bragging rights on the line. Finally, Nick hit one last strike and cheered, thinking he won. But Aurora pointed at the scoreboard, they were still close but Nick was slightly higher.

"Wanna call it a tie? We both played hard." She suggested,

They shook hands with the truce made, they each got bragging rights.

Walking down the streets as fog and passing cars made the nightlife surreal, Aurora sniffed the air to a familiar scent.

"Hot dogs…"

She then saw a hot dog kiosk with fresh sausages roasting on the red hot cooker.

"You hungry?"

"Yeah, worked up appetite." She replied,

Nick motioned for two hot dogs, the cashier gave him the food and change.

"Aww, Nick. You didn't have to do that." She uttered as she began to munch on her late night snack.

"No, you made us food. Now it's my turn."

They walked home as the frankfurters were consumed with tangy mustard and sweet ketchup. And they laughed down the street, Aurora was stopped by a sudden overwhelming dread. Nick looked concerned as she froze in her tracks,

"Aurora? Aurora, what is it?"

He looked in the direction she was staring and saw a tall, slender hooded figure towering over the trash.

"Hey man, we don't want trouble. Just let us go and we can-"

Suddenly, the figure shot straight at Nick into his chest. He felt as though his lungs were being forced shut. He choked for air, Aurora dived down to his aid.

"Nick, are you okay?!"

Frantically, she searched for anyone to help. But the streets were mysteriously vacant so were any passing cars. She tried to reach for their phones, but neither was getting service.

Knowing Nick was running out of time, she closed her eyes and reached under her shirt. Slipping out a silver oval pendant, she whispered a few words of Latin and swiftly placed it on his chest. She saw the shadow shoot out from his mouth and out the sky, Nick was coughing hard.

"Nick, are you okay?"

Slowly, he tried to stand though stumbling on the way up.

He was breathing again, but it was clear in his expression that there was more going on that meets the eye.

At last, Nick began to speak but it wasn't what she expected.

"You see, that was an attack. It's only a matter of time before you're hurt next."

Letting her necklace dangle on her chest, she sighed in disappointment. It was a trap, the entity hasn't gone…it was waiting for the right moment to strike them both, knowing Aurora cared for Nick.

"Come on, let's go home." Aurora grabbed his arm but he slipped from her grasp.

"No, you go. I need time alone, please."

"Nick, did it show you something during the attack?"

His silence gave no clues away, but his eyes hinted that something vile would occur.

"Please, tell me. Maybe I can help you."

"No one can help me now." Nick said in desperation before walking away.

"Wait! Nick, where are you going?" She yelled out but he wouldn't respond.

"Nick!"

She stood in shock, feeling helpless. She was tempted to run after him, but knew he would never let her follow.

She walked into her empty apartment and clicked on a light so Nick could find his way back.

Nick spent time alone in an alley, letting the rain smear his face as tears mixed in. He broke down, feeling so down that another person he cared about was almost hurt because of him.

But with no else to turn, he was forced to walk to her apartment since he knew the police would search for him in the morning. Using his spare key, he clicked the lock on the apartment and snuck through the hall. As he quietly slipped into his bed, he soaked his pillow with rain and huge tears.

 _Is there no end in sight?_


	8. Chapter 8-This is Gonna Hurt

_**Author's Note**_ : **WARNING** This chapter contains feels and disturbing imagery which could triggering to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

* * *

Time had passed but it felt nothing had gotten fixed in Nick's life. The nightmares got progressively worse, showing him viciously hurting Aurora like that night he was nearly choked breathless. The magnificent food that Aurora would cook tasted as though it was decomposingly rotten and any drink he had wasn't much better, almost felt as though it was contaminated.

As he reduced his appetite, his physique quickly went down back to his skinny self when he started filming Ghost Adventures. Feeling low on energy, he felt no further interest in anything athletic.

Aurora could slowly see Nick's deterioration of his health and overall vibe, he was checked out at the doctor who could find no medical reason for his suffering. Desperate, Aurora tried to coax Nick to seek a priest in her local church. But remembering the last time he sought refuge that way, the priest was no help at all implying he was crazy.

Hallucinations came coming him to reach out and attack Aurora, leaving Nick frustrated.

 _Is she not listening that she'll get hurt too?_

If he lost her, he'd have nothing left.

One late summer day, Aurora was about to go to her internship but could see that look in Nick's eyes…the light has completely vanished from him.

"Nick, do you want me to stay home today?"

"Why would you do that?" He asked quietly in a hard tone.

"Because…I care about you." She said, feeling tugging inside her chest.

"Yeah, I wish you didn't. Maybe it'd be better if I never came here…" Nick said in an aggressive, stunning her to the core.

"Nick, how could you say that? You would've-"

"What?! Be on the streets, alone?" Nick yelled, gritting his teeth.

"Besides, you got it good. At least you have a home, your dream career…God, can't you leave me the fuck alone?!"

Tears welled to her eyes, ripping her heart into pieces but she spoke anyway.

"Nick, please…you don't mean that." She said as her lip quivered.

"Oh, what do you care? You think God will spare me now? Clearly, He doesn't care about me! I prayed for help and this entity only got worse, maybe you get out of my life THEN MAYBE I'LL BE FREE AND GET MY LIFE BACK!" Nick shouted, echoing through the wall.

Aurora grasped her chest, sensations of tearing stabbed through her chest. Eyes stinging in the pain, clasping them shut.

"Nick-"

He turned away, not caring anymore.

"Just go, do what you have to do."

Aurora wiped her eyes, needing some space to find her own solace. Grabbing her bag and keys, she exited the apartment.

Nick heard the door shut and slightly came back to his senses, screaming in agony. He thrashed at his bed, throwing whatever he could.

 _No, how could this happen?! Not her, too. I really did hurt her…Veronique was right to leave me. Annabelle and Chloe shouldn't have a Dad like me…_

Collapsing down on his bed, held his head in his hands, scrapping his hair with his fingers. Feeling his wedding ring, he grabbed it and tugged it off, throwing it down the bathtub drain along with whatever he tried to cleanse himself.

Then as he paced his trashed room, darkness enveloped him and a deep, shadowy voice spoke quietly.

" _Come now, give into me. I can free you, give you what you lost…just let me control_."

Nick's neck flicked back as he felt something heavy rush into him, losing all sense of time.

" _That's it, good_."

 _No family, no wife, my kids are gone, I have no friends…what I have to live for now?_

Nick thought he felt drawn out to the hall, his vision distorted and voices swirled his head again.

Aurora was walking sulking through the train station, slipping through the subway train doors. She walked to a pole, heart heavy that she failed to help her friend. Not caring that random people are brushing passed her, lost in thought.

Nick stood in place out in the living room, peering over at the outside patio, the curtains wiping in the wind.

" _Come, Nick. I'll show the way home_."

His footsteps trudged sluggishly as though he were only a puppet now, no more a man.

As Aurora stood with a bowed head, a sudden voice to her too but a strong, audible tone in her head surrounded by a warm light.

 _"Aurora, quick go home! Nick needs your help!"_

Receiving a vision of her patio and someone walking the edge, dread and danger loomed over her.

 _Nick!_

She quickly spun off the train just the doors shut, sprinting through the station as fast as she can. Begging God that she can still save her friend as she slipped out for phone.

Nick saw the metal fencing surrounding the balcony, which felt sturdy, and he looked down, a portal morphed open below him.

" _There, jump Nick and you'll be home again…like none of this ever happened_."

He walked over a stonewall just high enough to balance on the balcony. The wind whisping in his ears, wiping his jacket, thinking it was the energy from the portal below. Grasping the wall, he leaned carefully over…

Then a hand grasps his arm and another palms his chest with a hard impression of a pendant as he fell back down, stumbling over his feet. The hands hold his arms as the voices dissipate allowing him to hear a female voice…

"Nick! Nick, talk to me! Nick!"

As he slowly looked up, his vision came back into focus, seeing the bright hair of what looked like an angel at first then to his rescuer.

"Aurora?" Nick spoke up, looking disturbed and upset, he caressed her hair to make sure she was real.

She looked in fear as she lifted the medal from his chest, then felt Nick grab her arms.

Slowly, she cradled into his arms feeling moisture run down his cheeks. Realizing what he nearly had done and was so overwhelmed with guilt, he raved in agony as he clawed her.

"I'm so sorry, I'm sorry…" He spoke in a shaky, upset voice.

"Shh, it's okay I'm here."

As they stayed in place against the wall, sirens slowly blared in the background coming closer to their aid.

The police arrived on scene to asset the situation, paramedics checked Nick over her physical injuries with only scraps on his hands and strapped into a gurney for transport to the hospital.

Aurora held Nick's hand as they rolled him to the ambulance, talking softly.

"Hang in there, Nick. It's gonna be okay."

As he loaded away, the ambulance pulled off with sirens blaring down the street. The police informed of where he was being taken.

Within the hour, Aurora was at the hospital waiting for news. Finally, a man in a white coat with a clipboard came up to her.

"Ms. Gibbons, your friend is under psyche evaluation and suicide watch to make sure he's stable. He's resting comfortably, we gave him a slight sedative to help him sleep."

She nodded, relieved that Nick was safe for now.

"Look, there's nothing more you can do here. I would suggest you came back in a few days, let him recover and contact his family as soon as you can."

Confused, Aurora spoke up.

"He only mentioned me? No other family?"

"No, he said to contact you as an emergency contact."

Still confused, Aurora complied realizing that he may not want his family to see him like that since it was traumatic enough what they already witnessed. Thanking the doctor, she turned to leave but prayed Nick would recover soon.

Meanwhile in the hospital room, Nick laid in the crisp white bed. Breathing slowly, eyes twitching as a warm glow appeared in his dream.

Nick was in a grassy field, surrounded by mountainous landscapes.

"What-what is this?" He looked around in confusion.

"Hello Nick." Spoke a soft male voice,

He turned to see a tall, radiant man with flowing shiny blonde hair and with the same striking blue eyes he saw months before.

"Don't be afraid, I'm Michael."

Nick looked at him, gulping a bit.

"Am I dead?"

"No, this is a dream but that was a close shave." The angelic man walked closer, sitting next to him.

"Aurora, is she okay? She saved my life."

"Yes, she's safe. She was very worried about you, and prayed for you, so I came to her…to warn her that you were in need of help."

"But…how come you never came to me whenever I prayed?" Nick asked with confusion,

"I did, remember that police officer who escorted you home? Remembering Aurora, giving you a place to stay? I guided the officers on my side to assist you just today. That was me, answering your prayers."

Nick looked away in realization, that officer was right. Archangel Michael was in fact looking out for him.

"You know, Aurora wears a St Michael medal as protection on investigations?" The angel said as Nick gazed in amazement.

"So that's how she was able to save me, her blessed medal released those evil spirits from me?"

"Yes." The angel nodded, but Nick contorted in wonder.

"Why couldn't you free me from the demon attached to me?"

"Because you invited it in, remember the last time you worked with Zak?"

Nick flashed back, seeing the Demon House in his memories.

"I can only help when I'm asked to, but this one…you'll need more than just me to rid of this evil spirit. You'll need everyone on your side."

"But my wife…or my kids, they won't come near me now."

"They still love you, and so does everyone you know." The angel reassured.

Nick nodded, though not so sure in his heart.

"Now, since the Enemy has been suppressed, I'll send you help on earth."

The angel stood and walked, turning to Nick one last time.

"Nick, when you wake up, you may not remember this dream…but I'll always be with you and so will God, He loves you. Don't lose hope and don't lose faith, we're always listening." The angel faded into light as Nick slowly blinked his eyes open.

Feeling stiff in his limp body, he adjusted to rest on his side. Grasping into a fist, hoping that Aurora was safe at home.

She laid in her bed alone, nearly unable to sleep. Exhausted from fixing Nick's room, making it a home again. In shock that someone that valued highly in her heart nearly died today, but she slipped her medal from her neck. Wiping a thumb over the etched winged figure,

"Thank you, St. Michael."

Feeling a sense of relief come over her, reassurance that Nick was safe. She prayed that Veronique would return her missed calls soon.


	9. Chapter 9-A Lullaby for the Lonely

A Lullaby for the Lonely

The sunlight shone brightly through the glistening glass, illuminating the hospital room as Aurora stared at Nick's slumbering figure. Praying for his recovery, she reminisced in her flashbacks about the last few moments before he left Ghost Adventures for good.

 _As Nick was still at odds with the guys, Zak came to Aurora behind Nick's back and offered her Nick's job. She didn't feel right taking Nick's place because he could replace him, but agrees to stay on the crew because they have been her family since the beginning. She wasn't at the building when Zak fired Nick before he could move on and say it was Zak's fault. She did however read the post Nick wrote on his Facebook wall and was heartbroken by the news. Nick eventually met up with her while on a business trip through New York, they talked for a while as she wanted to get Nick's side of the story._

 _"Yeah, I mean…life is about learning through good & bad experiences...both have made me a better person. We live in a world where negative people try so hard to ruin others lives. Negative people will say they are your friend & congratulate you one day, than the next day do the exact opposite through jealousy & hatred. It's disgusting. Don't ever let someone try & destroy your life. Be real, honest & stay positive. I'm just grateful for what I have experienced." Nick said, Aurora shook her head in understanding._

 _"I…hope you're okay that I'm staying with Zak and the guys to continue the journey we started…it's sad to see you go. Will we still be friends even I work with them?" Aurora asked with a sad look in her gaze._

 _"Yeah, of course. Nothing will change that. Just…don't let this job change who you are. Don't be afraid to leave if you feel unsafe, you're a great person and you're worth more than what Zak wants." Nick placed a hand on her shoulder like he did back in the first days together as a team._

 _"Life is too short, go out there and live in the only way that you can. 'Cause someone's gonna look up to you someday."_

 _Aurora smiled in that warm, loving feeling she craved for many years. They exchanged a parting hug and promised to remain in touch._

 _"If you need anything, let me know." Nick said as he gazed over his shoulder,_

 _"Same here."_

 _Aurora smiled, watching her friend head off into whatever he was doing next._

As her flashbacks came to the present, her thoughts remained on what had transpired over the past few months.

Getting a phone call in the middle of the night was the last thing she expected, especially from Nick. Grabbing her phone to text him back, she wanted answers why this voicemail came so suddenly. After they agreed that he could stay with her, she kicked to high gear to fix up her apartment to be suitable for a guest and not just any guest, Nick Groff.

Knowing how it felt growing up to move from place to place without some stability is detrimental for personal growth when in a personal crisis. So wanting to spare Nick from that fate, she gladly opened her home to him. To see him now in a hospital bed instead home, ached her heart but was grateful he was alive at least.

Snapping her out of her thoughts, the door opened behind her with the clacking of heels. Turning around, a tall rather thin blonde woman strides through the room. Clutching her purse under her arm, she gazed at the bed then to Aurora.

"Veronique, you're here?"

Her face contorted in anger and confusion,

"What you doing here?"

"Wha-I saved his life, I'm just here to comfort him until you arrived." Aurora explained.

Veronique sighed, seemingly grateful that he was at least alive. But she ventured closer, the faded scratches on his arms, yellowing skin mixed with black and blue vessels showed what she feared.

Scoffing in disbelief, lifting his left hand noticing missing something valuable. Placing it down gently, she spun around quickly.

"What is this?! Where's his wedding ring?!" She said in a strong voice,

"I swear I don't know. He-" She was cut off mid-sentence.

"I know, I see exactly what's going on here!"

"Then enlighten me 'cause I have no idea what you're talking about." Aurora gazed in confusion, not liking where this conversation.

"He's moved on, he's found someone who will tolerate his lifestyle."

"Veronique, he loves you and the girls. He wouldn't do anything like that!"

"Well, if you want him, you can have him. A man who loves his family wouldn't almost kill himself, so he clearly doesn't care anymore."

This stunned Aurora as she tried to talk some sense into her former love.

"But, that wasn't him. Nick was under possession when it happened. Haven't you experienced that with him?"

"Oh, please. I don't need this, go ahead and take him home. And don't bother telling him I was here." She started to walk, giving up what was left of her former life.

"Wait, what about Annabelle and Chloe? They need their father."

She froze, rummaged through her purse and slipped out a photo, handing it to her.

"Maybe he'll see them again, but I don't know when…they're my kids too."

Aurora stood there as Veronique stormed down the hall, the door closing behind her. Lifting the photo, she gazed at the most recent depiction of Nick's daughters.

She frowned, feeling guilty that by saving Nick and trying to help him, she inadvertently separated them further. Just then a nurse came into the room with stethoscope around her neck.

"Hi there." She spoke in a bubbly voice.

"Hi." Aurora replied,

"Just gonna check his vitals signs."

As Aurora sat nearby, the nurse gazed at the photo in her hand.

"Aww, are those your kids?"

Her heart sunk, knowing where the nurse was going with that.

"No, they're his kids. I'm just a friend."

"Well, he's very lucky. Beautiful children, a good friend. Is the mother here?" She asked as she adjusted the Velcro on his arm.

"No, she stormed out." She didn't want to say anymore, but spoke up a little more.

"I hope I didn't ruin the family by saving his life…"

The nurse shot over her shoulder, in a strong tone.

"Now, don't you think that way, child."

Aurora looked up as the nurse pumped air from the compressor in her hand.

"By saving his life, you gave him a second chance to make things right. Sure, things don't change overnight. But that's why we live every day, it's too short to focus on the bad."

Aurora nodded, agreeing with the nurse but questioned why Veronique couldn't see that. After some thought, Nick did verbally attack her before his possession so maybe she was still traumatized from that and lost her trust in him. Sensing that she was the only looking out for Nick now, she has take over and guide him this difficult time.

"Do you-do you know if this hospital has a chapel here?" She asked the nurse.

"Of course, dear. Do you want to have the priest up here and pray for you both."

"Yes, please."

The nurse nodded as she wrapped up her duties,

"Okay, everything looks good. I'm gonna recommend a doctor come and wake him up."

Aurora smiled a bit as the nurse exited the room, feeling that hope was slowly upon them. She rubbed her medal again, praying for guidance and strength. She could feel a wave of warmth and comfort envelop her before the door opened once more. A dark man came walking in holding a Bible in black clothing besides the white collar below his neck.

"Hi there." He outstretched his hand to shake hers.

"Okay, shall we pray?"

Aurora did the sign of the cross as she bowed her head as the priest recited the words from the book. Feeling a very warm presence behind her, her heart felt lifted slightly from the hardships she encountered lately.

Then as the priest finished, he paused and turned to Aurora.

"Tell me, has your friend…delved into the occult recently?"

"He investigates the paranormal for a living, why?"

"Because as I prayed, I saw a darkness surrounded him even as he sleeps. But there's a light holding it still. As I asked for identity for the dark spirit, he growled at me with malice."

Aurora gasped as he continued,

"I normally don't recommend exorcisms, but whatever this thing is will not stop until he's completely given on life."

"You believe in the paranormal?" She asked in a curious voice.

"Oh yes, I nearly died once as a teenager and became more sensitive to the supernatural. So I devoted my life to do God's work, to help the living and the dead find peace."

"Can you…perform the exorcism?" She asked,

"Oh no, but I know someone who could that I trust. Now, it could take some time to make the arrangements. But when your friend wakes up, take him home and keep things as positive as you can. He needs all the help and support he can get…"

Aurora nodded, knowing from her experience with the paranormal that exorcisms are dangerous…the ultimate battle between good and evil. But this may be necessary to free him.

"Thank you. I'll do what I can."

"Okay, I'll be in touch. God be with you both." He patted her arm as she stood in slight relief,

"Thank you, God." She whispered.

Hope was in fact on the way, but it was a hard road ahead. She grasped Nick's limp hand, holding it tight.

 _Don't worry, Nick. I told you, we'll figure this out…together._


	10. Chapter 10-All is Not Lost

A few days passed, Nick was discharged from the hospital. During his recovery back home, Aurora took time off from her internship and studies to help him recover. Thankfully, her University and internship program completely understood and wished her the best.

She told Zak that she had a family emergency to take care of and would contact him soon; he too was supportive and was still unaware of Nick's condition. She did her best to keep Nick's wishes to not tell Zak, but it was becoming harder and harder to hide the truth. But despite that, she did as the priest instructed and maintained a positive environment as possible.

Over the following weeks, Nick soon began to taste the marvelous flavors of Aurora's home cooking again and she would join him as moral support when he went for runs to workout, this routine was slowly regaining Nick's muscular physique and he felt more energized. To combat his nightmares, they would watch as many inspirational shows, movies and YouTube videos as possible.

As they sat on the couch, laughing and having fun when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

Aurora answered,

It was the priest she met at the hospital, he found someone who could perform an exorcism on Nick to rid him of the demonic attachment. She was relieved at the news, but slightly worried that they would have to travel quite a ways away and that it would take some time for the preparations. Assured that the issue will be resolved soon, she hung up and told Nick what happened.

"An exorcism, huh?" Nick said in a slight scoff,

"Yeah, we'll have to go out Maryland to do it, though. Hopefully, they'll call soon."

Nick nodded, sharing in her hopeful demeanor. As he rubbed his hands, he sighed in sorrow. Sensing what could be bothering him, she reached in her jacket and slipped out a photo.

Handing it to Nick, he gazed in a slight watery gaze.

"Where did you get this?" He asked,

"Veronique came while you were sedated, she gave me that before she left."

"Did she…say anything?"

Aurora hesitated, remembering the argument she had with her. Wanting to maintain a positive outlook, she gazed at his earthy, brown eyes while caressing his left hand.

He took that as a sign that she hadn't taken him back, maybe Annabelle and Chloe were asking how he was so she stopped by to assure their father was at least alive. Feeling slightly hurt by separation from his family, he grasped Aurora's hand as comfort.

"Thanks for giving me this, at least they're safe and healthy." He said, grasping it in his hand.

Aurora sat in reassurance, trying to radiate hope into Nick's heart. He looked up at her, seeing that positivity in her soul just like when he met her. He lightly laughed and composed himself, Aurora saw this and contorted into confusion.

"What's up?" She asked,

"No, I was just thinking. You've coming so far and from what you told me over the years, you endured some hard times." He paused,

"How do you do it?"

She chuckled lightly, thinking on that herself.

"I just…decided that, a while back, I would be better than how I lived growing up. I pushed through the bullshit because I had to, I'm survivor I guess you can say. So after I found that there is more out there than what I sheltered with, I had to explore and go live my life. Like you said, life is too short. I made this far so I'm gonna make the best of it."

He smiled, knowing that he influenced this strong-willed person in front of him.

"This is my life and I want to show others how to overcome adversity through stories…"

"Like film and video production?"

"Yes, and the paranormal always fascinated me and gave me a social outlet to open up to people while in college…Being sheltered like I was, it made me hesitant to trust people."

"You trust me, right?" He asked, curiously.

"Oh, yeah. I trust you with my life 'cause you helped change it mine for the better."

He chuckled, blushing slightly.

"Thanks, Aurora. You really are a unique person, don't let anybody tell you different…"

He paused, lifted his arm to invite her in. She sat next to him as he held her in a hug.

"And I can't tell you how sorry I am about what I said before…the incident. It wasn't right."

She grasped his arm on hers,

"I know that wasn't you, that's why I came back. Because…I…"

Nick gazed at her, waiting for a response but he could see within her fern, green eyes…it was something that couldn't say just yet. He then pulled her closer, caressing her arm. Leaning his face on the crown on her head, she nuzzled under his neck. Both feeling the warmth of safety, which had evaded them before and now gave a resemblance of unspoken forgiveness.

As Nick let her slip out, she walked into the kitchen to retrieve them some drinks. But she walked away; Nick felt his heart flutter like it hadn't in a long time.

 _What is this?_

He thought, could be something he ate this morning coming back to haunt him?

 _No, that's ridiculous._

Could it be that he overworked himself on that last run through the city parks?

 _No, it's not that…_

Then could be…something that had been missing since he left his home in New England?

Later that night as they were preparing for another late night TV movie, Nick slipped into his usual black tank top emblazoned with a skull and gray scale plaid sleepwear pants. He stepped out to the hall, seeing the glow of the TV glisten through the darkness. The sweet scent of buttery steam filled the air, he sniffed a few times and knew that smell particular.

He turned the corner, Aurora sat on the couch knees bent inward with a full bowl on her lap.

"Come on, Nick. The movie's about to start." She said, lifting the bowl to him as he slipped down right across from her. Grabbing a hand full of popcorn, they both crunched on some as the credits rolled through the introduction.

Of all things, it was a found footage film trying to imitate as though they found "real" evidence.

Aurora laughed at some of the ridiculous dialogue, fake as hell exposition and shaky camera work.

"Come on, I can make something better in my sleep."

Nick turned and laughed with her, knowing their expertise in writing and shooting films, they probably could. Then a light bulb lit up in his head, turning to her.

"Hey, do you want to make a found footage movie?"

"Right here, at home?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Deciding that was a better idea than melting their psyches with this monstrosity they called a found footage film, she ran to her room to grab her camera. They decided to just improv the whole thing to give some kind of realism as they discussed shots and interpreting what to do.

Nick was the cameraman as Aurora sat on the couch alone, depicting she was alone at him until strange noises disturbed her. He was behind the camera, making the noises for her to follow. Trying to visualize Aurora's character investigating it with caution, as she ventured through the darkness, she found child "footsteps" on the floor. Nick shot this after she made them using an old trick in middle school, impressing him with her creativity with storytelling. As she acted scenes where she supposed see thing, Nick directed her actions as she followed suit.

Further into the night as they wrapped the movie up, Aurora took the footage into her desktop and imported the footage onto her editing suite. Thanks to her personal time making edits and the extra experience she gained professionally through her time as a film student, the footage was given a title and was set up for editing. But fatigue had begun to catch up with both of them, and then Aurora got an idea.

"Hey Nick, mind if I submit this video for Videography and Editing course at school? We were instructed to make a short film over the summer."

Nick smiled and gave her a thumbs up,

"Yeah, go for it, kid. Show 'em what you got."

"Thanks, I'll leave the editing for another day. I'm packing it in, it's almost two in the morning."

"Yeah, me too. Night, kiddo." Nick said as he exited her room, letting her get ready for bed.

Nick began his nightly routine as he started to scrub his teeth vigorously. As he stood at his sink after finishing, he paused looking down then into the mirror. At first, he saw his own reflection then images of Aurora when she came to his rescue flooded his mind.

The radiance of her golden, silken blonde hair matched with her lustrous, beryl green eyes. Almost reminding him of a luxurious sandy beach, a place of cleansing and peace for him. Her elegance in her demeanor, always so kind and loving made him buzz inside his head. As blinked back to reality, he splashed some water to his face and patted it down with a towel.

As he slipped under his warm cover and clicked off his bedside lamp, he adjusted to his side. Laying there, he began to flash through his memories of when he first met Aurora.

 _Once they finished their shots at the Halden Mansion, back in 2010. He, Zak and Aaron walked across the grassy lawn to greet her._

"Hi, there. You're our Contest winner?" Zak said,

"Yep, I am." She replied,

She shook Zak's firm hand and greeted Aaron, then Nick who suspended a camera on his shoulder.

 _"Hi." he said softly, she gave him a small smile._

 _That same lockdown, she saw a dark figure reach for her neck after discovering an inverted pentagram. Even after they came running to find her shaken, she soon gathered her courage and returned to the same spot. That action was enough to convince all three of them that she was worthy of joining their crew and became their Junior Paranormal Investigator since she was technically still in teen years._

 _At their next location, she was investigating with him at the Bartonville Insane Asylum when he blacked out and nearly physically attacked her. But refusing to leave him alone, she stood her ground and flicked Holy Water at him to release the evil spirit that had taken over. But ever since then, she grew distant from him and soon after a few more investigations; she inexplicably disappeared with only a letter promising to return._

 _A year passed without from her, but as they were ready to do yet another investigation without their friend. She came again to the show, this time to stay for good. The two of them eventually reconciled about leaving without a goodbye and continued to venture on the Ghost Adventures Crew for several more seasons until the present year._

 _But not all hope was lost…_

Realizing that Aurora had been there and endured time and time again some pretty challenging adventures, she was someone to truly admire. As he recalled these moments, his heart swelled with feeling. Almost giving the sensation that he had run a marathon, but more emotional and soothing.

As he ventured slowly to sleep, he was prepared for anything now. But this time, instead of dark figures attacking him, he saw Aurora standing before him. Her arm was stretched out, a brightness was illuminating from her hand which kept the dark figures back. He felt soundly at peace and for the first time in months, safe.

He blinked open from this dream, laid there in confusion. He quietly walked out to the hall, peering through the creak into Aurora's room. She was sound asleep, her covers rose slowly up and down. He very slowly closed the door, latching it silently.

If that dream wasn't a warning or vision like he's had before, then..,

 _What could this mean?_


	11. Chapter 11-Feelings Hard to Explain

The next morning, Nick awoke feeling pretty rested and refreshed. After he freshened up in the bathroom, he stepped into his room to slip on his slippers. Judging the silence in the kitchen, he decided to check on Aurora and was surprised that she hadn't woken up yet.

Probably conked out from their late night shenanigans shooting a ghostly video. As he saw her barely move, he decided to take initiative since she did so much already.

 _What the hell? I'll make breakfast, how hard can it be?_

He thought to himself before slowly closing her door once more, heading to the kitchen. Rummaging through her cabinets, he gathered the pans he needed then the ingredients. This actually wasn't new to him since he's cooked breakfast before for his kids, so this would be a refresher course.

Mixing the batter and pouring it on the hot pan, the beige paste emitted the sweet fragrance of buttery goodness into the air. While the round disks bubbled, he slipped out some strips of bacon on another hot pan. The sizzling meaty ribbons sink and crumbled up as they were fried to a crisp.

Awoken by a sudden aroma of food, Aurora leaned up from bed and placed on her eyeglasses. Sniffing the air, making sure that her nose wasn't playing tricks on her. Confirming that she really was sensing food, she looked over to see Nick's room empty. Intrigued, she wrapped herself in a house robe and walked down the hall.

Nick heard her footsteps coming down the hall, saw her turn the corner rubbing an eye under her spectacles.

"Morning."

"Ooh. Morning." Aurora replied with a long yawn, sitting down beside the dining table.

"You making breakfast?" She asked, looking at him over the counter.

"Yeah, it's the least I can do in return."

As he slipped scrambled eggs on their plates, he served her first placing a plate on the table.

"Thank you."

As she waited for Nick to join her, she spoke up.

"I'm gonna work on the video today, would you like to help?" She asked,

"Hell yeah, sure."

As they both fed on the breakfast, Aurora couldn't help but feel something in the air...something she thought would cross her way. Tension, but this was foreign since they worked together professionally. What could cause this slight tension between them just having breakfast, talking editing a video?

Regardless of this, she shrugged it off, as it was possible that she about to show Nick what she could pull in post-production. So after finishing their meal, they both did their morning routines and were excited to watch their little creation come to life.

After drying her hair and getting clothed for the day, she sat down at her desktop opening her editing suite. The various camera clips on screen showed different scenes, she then opened her effects suite knowing she could create some spectacular special effects.

As Nick knocked on her door, she turned to wave him in.

"Come on in."

Funnily, that's something she thought would never do. Invite Nick into her room, but this time to be professional, not a gitty fangirl. He pulled a seat next to her, seeing the same screens as her, making him nostalgic for the old days when he started out as a documentarian filmmaker.

"Okay, let's see what we got."

Nick gazed over the base shots before she added the effects, still impressed by her being able to think on her feet to make some great visuals. He gazed at her as she worked, the focus and concentration was clearly visible. She apparently knew what she wanted to do to take the story from a smorgasbord of meaningless shots into a creepy, suspenseful short film.

As they gave each other critiques on how to assemble the storyline, time seemed to fly away like the old times, almost as though, nothing had really changed between them. Except now, Nick has grown in maturity to become the man he is now and he could see now...Aurora was no more the frail young girl following him on lockdowns, she had now matured into a young woman who survived much and held her head in the face of the unknown.

As she saved her place in the post-production, she shut down her computer and turned to Nick with enthusiasm.

"So what you do think so far?"

"Looks awesome. They better give you an A for it or else I know a lot of people on the other side." Nick joked with a light laugh.

Aurora blushed, smiling at the compliment.

She stood from her chair, Nick also stood to let her pass. Her foot kicked her bed frame causing her to fall towards the carpeted floor, but arms quickly caught her in time.

"Whoa, careful." Nick said softly, as she looked at him with slight embarrassment. She stayed in place, almost hypnotized by his warm, inviting brown eyes. They both froze in place, barely breathing as the tension returned as a connection being made.

Blinking back to her senses, she stammered with her words as Nick's hands finally slipped off her arms.

"I-I-Well, you think I'd be more careful after working in the dark for so many years." She tried to hide her burning crimson face as her speech became a bit flustered.

Nick rubbed his hand behind his head in slight embarrassment, hoping she too wouldn't see the sweltering reddish hue under his eyes.

"No, no. It's alright, as long as you're okay." He radiated a beaming smile.

"Yeah, I'm good." She walked away, trying to cover her awkwardness by acting normal.

As she strided down to the living room, pressing her back against a wall. Her racing heart rate was vibrating through her spine into the surface, breathing as calmly as possible.

 _That was too close...wouldn't want to give off the wrong idea._

Aurora placed a hand over her chest, sensing the roaring pulse of her throbbing gush of blood. As she tried to relax and calm her breathing, Nick was still back in the hall and was searching for his companion. He began step down the hall, she could hear his footfall coming closer and pushed off the wall.

"Hey, you okay?" Nick asked, showing slight concern on why she hid.

"Yeah, just making sure I didn't stub a toe or something." She slightly lied, knowing that wasn't possible with her sneakers on.

Nick nodded, glancing downwards.

"Okay, so you're good."

"Yep."

The rest of the day was uneventful compared to earlier, so Nick took the liberty of preparing dinner as a treat. Aurora went back to her computer to edit the video some more, she was just in the middle of fabricating a special effect when sudden shatter echoed through the hall followed by a swear word from Nick caused her to wheel around.

"You okay?" She called out as she hurried to the kitchen.

"Yeah," Nick replied, trying to clean up the mess. " A jar of marinara slipped from my hand and broke on the floor."

Aurora looked to see spatters of red-orange paste all over the tiles with occasional spots on the cabinets. The jagged glass was mixed into the soupy paste, making it difficult to fix the damage.

"Sorry, I ruined your kitchen." He said as he tried to wipe the spots from the floor.

"Careful, watch the glass." He warned her as she stepped into the kitchen.

Grabbing some gloves, she went to grab the broom when she felt a foot squeak under her. Landing with a thud, she grunted in slight pain as Nick shot his head straight at her.

"Whoa, you alright?"

She slowly got up on her knees, careful to avoid the hazardous pile.

"Are you hurt?" Nick asked, very concerned.

Watching her as she removed her gloves, thankful to see that she wasn't jabbed by any glass. She rolled her jacket arm back, wincing in pain as it revealed a nasty pinkish red scrap along her forearm.

"Ooh, that looks rough." Nick said as he carefully held and inspected her arm.

"Come on, let's clean this up first. Don't want another accident." She suggested.

"Been having trouble with that today?" He joked with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. She shot him an annoyed look as he laughed,

"Sorry, bad joke."

He assisted her with sweeping up the glass and pasta sauce. Once finished, he held her damaged arm as they walked to his bathroom where she kept a first-aid kit. As she sat on the toilet lid, Nick rummaged under the sink to grab the small, transparent blue with a red cross glossed on it.

Snapping it open, he grabbed a cotton ball and opened the bottle of rubbing alcohol. Placing the ball on the neck and quickly inverting the bottle, the pungent smell of the alcohol pierced Nick's nostrils as carefully held Aurora's arm.

"Okay, this might sting a bit."

He gingerly patted her wound with the cotton ball; she winced lightly though she didn't flinch.

"I'm impressed. You can cook, can fix up wounds, what else can you do?"

Nick laughed a bit as he trailed the ball down the scrap.

"Well, when you have kids, you take on many duties that you never had to before." He replied, Aurora laughed a bit, feeling lucky that he was a man of many talents.

As he patted it down with gauze, he smeared some bacitracin on her arm to prevent any infections.

"Okay, there. Good as new." He smiled, packing up the kit.

While slipping it back under the sink, she watched him as he took her hand. Standing up with his gentle aid, he stared once again into her eyes. Her heart slowly raced, time seemed to slow, as they were silent. Then the timer in the kitchen blared a piercing beep, snapping them both back to reality.

"Oh yeah. Still gotta finish dinner."

He vibrated in light laughter as he slipped past her; she followed close behind to help him wrap it up. Thankfully, she had a spare jar of sauce and the rest of dinner went off without a hitch.

As the night wore on, they were comfortably situated in their favorite sleepwear on the couch while enjoying a TV special for a comedian with ventriloquist puppets. Both were vibrating the couch with laughter at the jokes and raw talent at the comedian's actions to bring the puppets to life.

As one puppet on-screen yelled out to stagehand to help "him" fix a hand stuck in his pelvis, Aurora rolled on the couch as Nick smacked the cushions as they lost it in laughter. Catching her breath after a few minutes, Aurora began to speak again.

"Oh, man. You can see why I watch this show."

"Yeah, he's freaking hilarious." Smiling in agreement, lines creasing on his face.

They continued to watch the special and once it was over, they switched it to a Lifetime TV movie.

As the movie coursed on, Nick's head hung a bit before he was jolted awake by Aurora's slumber body slipped onto his lap. But instead of waking her, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Smiling at her calm, soft being nuzzling on him, clearly at peace. Feeling the warmth emit from her body heat, he too slowly laid his head down moving as gently as possible let her sleep. With both of them in a comfortable position, Nick shut off the TV and slipped into a quiet shut-eye.

As her soft hair filled his senses with a calming aroma, his mind could only think one thing.

 _Please...let me never forget this..._


	12. Chapter 12-Between Us Two

Aurora shifted slightly as she slowly drifted from her slumber, slowly realizing she wasn't in her room.

 _Oh, ooh. Must've passed out on the couch last night…_

She thought, as she slid back a bit, another warm body was lying right behind her. Feeling an arm over her just on her navel, she carefully shifted to see Nick's calm face as his eyes twitched.

Her face began to fry under her eyes, mouth hung open. Not knowing what to do, she glanced down and carefully removed his arm. Hoping not to wake him, he moaned a bit as his head shifted. Still in his slumber, she carefully sat up and waltzed quietly to her bathroom. Squeaking on the water to splash her face, the cool liquid dripped down her chin. Trying to calm her giddiness scrambling her brains,

 _How the hell-what the eff happened?_

Her brain couldn't process what could have led her to be in that position throughout the night.

 _Did-did I really just…spend the night with Nick?_

Her head was spinning as her circuits were overloading with embarrassment fiercely battling her excitement, she could feel nothing happened but why did he just leave her there with him?

 _Come on, relax._ She tried to tell herself. _You don't want him to see you like this._

As she tried to rationalize what was transpiring there, a voice sounded behind her as she saw Nick in the reflection in her mirror.

"Hey, you alright?"

"Y-yeah, just wasn't expecting to…wake up…to you…like that."

"Oh," He laughed a bit, "Sorry, just didn't want to wake you up and so I thought it wasn't big deal to do that."

"I mean, it's not big deal if you didn't mind." She retorted, nervous that he take her actions the wrong way.

"No, not at all. Was the best night I'd had in a while, first time I hadn't woken up at three in the morning."

Smiling that the implication that she helped him more calmly, she nodded in agreement.

"Certainly wasn't expecting it."

Aurora turned bright red, just the mental image made her almost ready to explode from her flustering emotions.

"What? Are you embarrassed? I can see you're shaking."

Stunned with open eyes, she stammered by her inability to speak.

"N-no, i-it's just something…I never thought I'd do."

Nick vibrated his signature laugh, knowing that he really pushed her comfort zone unintentionally.

He gently palmed her arm to guide out to the living room,

"Come on, let's just enjoy the day."

"Fair enough." She said trying to push past her boiling emotions of euphoria and terror.

Nick went ahead and got dressed then was ready to go out the door.

"What's going on? Another workout routine?" Aurora asked in confusion,

"No, let's go out to the city. I wanna make up bowling night to you."

"Oh…Okay, let's do it." She quickly followed suit with getting dressed and slipping on some comfortable shoes.

Nick graciously opened the door to let her out first and close it behind them as they ventured on.

Hours passed between all their activities, sightseeing the Statue of Liberty like he did back when they guys were pitching Ghost Adventures to Travel Channel years ago. Catching some rides on Coney Island, and checking out a recently opened indoor arcade. They tried out an Escape Room challenge which they both used their wits to their group out of "the chemistry lab" before a mutant disease was released. They played a few rounds of laser tag, each playfully chasing each other. Wanting to win for their teams, in the end, Nick won that game…but Aurora knew something that she could better.

A Dance-Dance Revolution game was flashing neon colors and glowing arrows scrolling up on the screens.

"Come on." She challenged Nick as she led him to the platform.

"Oh, what? One on one?" He asked inquisitively,

"Yeah, you game?" She smirked.

"Ha, I'll beat you in a heartbeat."

"Don't count it." She beamed as she slid quarters in and chose a song.

"You've done this before?" He asked her as she stepped back.

"Hell yes. Lots of times."

Finally the song began and they each stepped on the indicated arrows, glowing smiles and thrashing their arms to the beat. Aurora just burst into laughter in the excitement; Nick could see he was trailing just a step behind her. But as long she was having a blast, that's what was most important. So Nick threw up his hands up and stepped off the platform, giving up his competitiveness just this once.

Aurora saw this and laughed more as Nick gestured for her to keep going. So she did, dancing with the lights flashing. Her hair spinning to copy her moves, leaving Nick to gaze in impression, bobbing his head to the beat. As the song ended, she stepped off as the board calculated her score versus Nick's.

WINNER: AJG 1,285 pts.

RUNNER UP: NJG 865 pts.

Nick laughed, creases appearing on his face again.

"Good job, you kicked ass."

"Thanks." She replied, kind of out of breath.

"Didn't know you could dance like that." He said in fascination.

"Yeah, well when you've been to as many school dances as I have, you catch on pretty quick." She replied as Nick gazed at her.

Both feeling winded from the exertion of energy, they mutually agreed it was time to go home. The crowds were getting more rowdy than Aurora was comfortable with anyway, and thankfully, there were no shadows materializing out nowhere as they ventured home.

They scaled the staircase and stopped at the door as she fiddled with her deadbolt lock, they walked inside ready to enjoy some quiet time when Aurora noticed a blinking red light on her answering machine.

Clicking on the messages, two were telemarketers that hadn't left anything audible until one male voice came through. It was the priest from the hospital, the exorcist was ready to meet in a week's time and hoping things were going well. As Aurora shut off the speaker after the message, she looked down in relief and slight disappointment. Nick could see this as he stood near her, sensing the sadness in her actions.

"Well, I guess…this means you'll be going home soon."

"Yeah…" Nick replied as Aurora dipped her head, but he caught her chin with his hand to make her look up.

"But…I already feel at home."

Aurora smiled at this, touched by Nick's words. She then concerted to concern and fear,

"What?" Nick softly spoke.

"Are you worried? Exorcisms, as you know, can be an intense experience for the host. The entity could lash out and do…who knows what?" She said anxiously.

"That's why…I was hoping you would be there."

Aurora shot up at Nick's words,

"You've been so strong and positive, I need you to be there. "Cause…I am scared…but-" He paused, walking closer holding her hands.

"…if you're there, I won't be scared."

Blushing at his kind words, sensing the swirling heat from their hands. Aurora slipped out for a moment to type on her laptop, a soft melody began to emit from the speakers.

"What are you-" Nick began to speak, but silenced when he heard the calming tempo from the song.

 _I remember tears streaming down your face_

 _When I said I'll never let you go_

 _When all the shadows almost killed your light_

Nick smiled in adoration as she stood up,

 _I remember you said don't leave me here alone_

 _But all that's dead and gone and past tonight_

Slowly, he lifted his hand and grasped her hand. Bringing her close, holding his hand on her back. As they slowly swayed to the tune, flashing through their memories of knowing each other.

 _Just close your eyes_

 _The sun is going down_

 _You'll be alright_

 _No one can hurt you now_

 _Come morning light_

 _You and I'll be safe and sound_

Aurora remembered the morning after each lockdown, the light always made her feel better that they survived.

 _Don't you dare look out your window_

 _Darling everything's on fire_

 _The war outside our door keeps raging on_

Nick flashed through their struggle between good and evil, knowing that was the war they would soon face.

 _Hold on to this lullaby_

 _Even when the music's gone_

 _Just close your eyes_

 _The sun is going down_

 _You'll be alright_

 _No one can hurt you now_

Aurora felt safe with Nick, he was finally someone she could trust wouldn't abandon her.

 _Just close your eyes_

 _The sun is going down_

 _You'll be alright_

 _No one can hurt you now_

 _Come morning light_

 _You and I'll be safe and sound_

Nick felt secure with Aurora, realizing she was truly caring and endearing despite his flaws.

 _Just close your eyes_

 _You'll be alright_

 _Come morning light_

 _You and I'll be safe and sound_

As they swayed slowly to the tune, Nick could finally tell what she trying to nonverbally say. He felt her part from him a bit as the song ended with one last verse.

 _Safe and sound_

He beamed a soft smile as she stared at him, hoping he got the message in the melody. They stood still once more, feeling the slow down in time again. Nick spoke softly,

"You're so sweet."

"I was just…wanted you to feel happy. I don't ever wanna forget these moments, this is life is all about..." Aurora replied,

"Yeah, caring about the people you love." Nick finished her sentence.

She looked up at him, turning a bit pink. Instead of feeling nervous, Nick rubbed her arm.

"It's okay, I know how you feel about me. And I don't mind it, at all. You've been so loving and thoughtful. I wouldn't have gotten this far without you."

Aurora turned red still, but she felt relieved that Nick understood her feelings and wasn't going to run from her. She leaned close to envelop him in the most warm and secure hug he ever felt, enclosing his arms to her while landing a hand on her head.

"Thank you…for everything." He said quietly,

She could now hear his heart beat, calm and firm breath like soothing autumn breeze.

Wishing that this moment could be frozen in place, they instead stayed put. Wanting to etch this memory into their minds, never to forget it.

As the night wore on and they slipped into their sleepwear, Nick came in to wish her goodnight. This time, both slept in their beds as soundly as though they were on Cloud 9.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Aurora slipped her eyes shut.

 _Nick does care about me, too._

 _God, please be with us…we're about to enter a battlefield._

* * *

 _ **Author's Note**_ : The song is called _Safe and Sound_ covered by Megan Nicole and Tiffany Alvord. This song is copyrighted to the artists and I don't own the lyrics, just wanted to use them in this chapter.


	13. Chapter 13-Requiem of Salvation

Dawn was barely breaking over the horizon as the two prepared for a long trip, Aurora was finishing up packing food and slipping the bag on her shoulder as Nick slipped his shoe laces on.

He sighed as he bent back up to look at her as she stood in front of him,

"You ready?" She asked,

"Yeah, let's go." He replied, his eyes drooped as lifted from the couch.

A slew of landscapes blew passed them as Aurora drove from the city out to the country, headed for the salvation that her friend needed to restore his life. Nick kept his arm on his door, watching the sun slowly rise over the horizon. The hours seemed to warp into a timeless stream of blurred trees, farms and highway roads. Gradually, Nick's nervousness of encountering this rite of exorcism grew and felt like he starting to be drained of energy.

Aurora could sense Nick's wandering mind, she grabbed his arm to snap him back.

"Hang in there, Nick. We'll be there soon."

Feeling a bit like himself upon her caring touch, he caressed her hand with a light smile as she continued to drive down the highway.

Nick gazed her as the voices in his head, having her there seemed to keep him calm.

After more time, they had pulled up to the driveway of their destination. The small brick laid house gave off a vibe of safety and a chance to put Nick's torment to an end.

They slowly exited her car and walked up the stone walkway, Nick paused while grabbing Aurora's wrist. She stopped and turned to look at him,

"Nick, what's up?"

He slightly swayed as his gaze was downward to hide his growing fear.

"If...if anything happens to me, please tell my family I love them and will always watch over them."

"You'll make it, you have to...for them."

She revealed the photograph of Chloe and Annabelle, both girls grinning in happiness. Nick started to sob, feeling a stronger reason to survive this ordeal. Reaching outward, he surrounded Aurora in a strong warm hug.

"Thank you."

She slipped a hand on his back to coax him inside,

"Come on, I'll be right here."

They stepped into the house and met the exorcist, he was preparing everything they needed as he instructed Nick to sit down. He was holstered down with reinforced leather straps, Aurora was wrapping his arm when she saw his missing wedding ring. She sighed, wishing she knew where the ring was so he could still his wife's presence. Nick grabbed her hand, looking up she met his eyes.

"It's okay, don't worry." Nick reassured her, remembering the night she danced with him.

Assured by his words, she stepped back as the priest placed his purple shawl. She slipped out her medal to her chest, gripping it in her hand.

 _St. Michael, please be with us..._

The priest raised his bible and baton of holy water, blessing the area around them murmuring the beginning prayers.

As Nick twitched in his chair, he seemed to fade in and out of consciousness. Feeling darkness over him, he saw the priest in a shade of red and gazed at Aurora before blacking out with his head hanging over his torso.

The priest walked to Nick with a raised hand, making a sign of the cross as he called on St. Michael the Archangel to aid them in battle. Aurora felt a strong warmth surround her almost as though a protective fire had encased her body.

As the prayers continued, Nick's body began shudder with his feet vibrating against the chair legs. As the cross came near his head, his head shot up with a look of pure hatred and malice in his face with huge mocking grin.

Aurora jumped back a step, feeling a change in energy like the enemy had arrived. Suddenly it spoke in a legion of voices,

"You called?"

She stood half frozen in place as his gaze shot like a bullet right through her.

"Your precious Nick isn't here anymore! Your God won't help you! He's mine!"

The priest flicked some holy water on him, causing him to scream in agony. Aurora could sense Nick was still in there, knowing the entity was trying to trick her with lies.

As the prayers continued, Nick thrashed out in rage, making the chair crack and creak against the force of his strength. Noticing a strap was slipping, Aurora tried to carefully tighten it when Nick shot his head to face her. His eyes met her medal with a bloodthirsty grin,

"You won't need that anymore."

His loosened arm broke the strap while his hand grasped fiercely onto her medal, but he screamed in pain as the grip let go. She gripped her medal, feeling lucky it protected her.

Hours passed as the exorcism continued, Nick was still thrashing in his chair but more sluggish. The priest started now to command the entity to give its name, it refused repeatedly. As he gazed over at Aurora, she felt a vision come through.

In a haze, she saw Zak pass out in front of his mantle in his dungeon and a shadow shot out from him. The shadow upwards and tracked down into Nick asleep in bed with Veronique, then a montage of everything the entity caused. The near physical attack on his wife, the Ouija board, his possession that nearly caused suicide and his nightmares. Nick then contorted his face into pure aggression, it had the clear intention to attack.

"You are powerless. You can't defeat me! He's mine and he will suffer!"

It occurred to her how this entity became attached to Nick, realizing Zak had something to do with it. But knowing that helping Nick was more important, they can deal with that at a better time.

Not wanting to hear this entity speak lies and give only its name, she placed her medal onto his forehead as he winced in pain. Once more, the priest gave religious provocation to command the entity to reveal its name. Finally, the entity spoke its name and the rite could gain power over the enemy.

The priest held the cross over Nick's head, he screamed in pain as the energy was highly charged in the room. Aurora could feel Nick's spirit trying hard to return, but was struggling with the negativity.

"Nick, come on. You can do it."

She pressed her medal into his forehead, trying to bring forward the man that meant so much to her. Summoning up the unconditional care she felt for Nick, try to course it through to his memory.

"Think about your family, they mean everything to you. You would do anything to protect them, you need to fight."

He thrashed his head at her, growling while also begging for relief.

"Nick, please. Come back. Nick!"

A sudden shift in energy occurred, Nick came through for brief moment. Almost though this was meant for Aurora alone, she paused seeing the warmth in his eyes.

"Don't you worry, I'm not giving up. Like you did..."

She gazed in near tears as Nick faded again, then the enemy returned.

Even more determined to rid this entity in him, she quickly removed her medal as the priest pressed the cross on his head. A sudden blast of pressure resounded through the room as a blue flash engulfed Nick as he let out a bloodcurdling scream. Another blast of pressure sounded then the sunlight slowly leaked through the windows as Nick's body went limp.

As the priest breathed a sigh of relief, he gestured for Aurora to remove the straps as Nick slowly lifted his head. Tired and relieved, he smiled with his pearly white teeth with the loving warmth in his brown eyes.

"Nick, you did it."

She lightly hugged him, the priest agreed as they smelled a sweet scent.

"Mm, smells like roses."

"It's a sign from God of a successful exorcism."

She smiled as they both shook hands with the priest.

After performing a blessing on them both to ensure the entity never returned, the priest wished them farewell as they left out of the house.

Aurora got back into the car after helping Nick to get in, she felt a hand grabs hers before starting the car.

"I know I've said this many times, but I can't thank you for being there."

She smiled and nodded, feeling an overwhelming warmth in her chest. Nick smiled back, holding onto her hand, feeling happy for the first time. But he noticed a slight hesitation in her eyes,

"What's wrong?"

She was reluctant to add any bad news after the immense battle they just encountered, so she made a compromise.

"I do have something to tell you...but I can't say it right now. It's...something that will upset you."

He nodded, understanding her concerns.

"It's okay, let's just go home and we'll talk about it when you're ready."

Relieved that he agreed to put off the bad news, she started the car and the road trip home went on into the night. Nick offered to take over driving for her so she could rest, she earned it after the fight she endured. As he drove, seeing her passed out, his mind began to wander.

Now that he was freed from his tormentor, there was still no guarantee that Veronique would reconcile with him and with lack of communication, he was uncertain if he would still have a wife. As he glanced at Aurora, she showed the strength that he needed to support not only his lifestyle but him as a person.

 _What are you saying?_

His mind and heart were at war, this young woman that supported him through his ordeal was growing on him while he missed the family he spent many years of his life to build.

As Nick parked the car, he carefully carried Aurora to her room. After gently removing her shoes and glasses, he slipped the covers on her slumbering body. He stepped out of her room, got into his sleepwear and under his own covers.

Thoughts raged in his mind, he was free from attacks but he still had another problem, an affair of the heart.

He shifted onto his side, unsure how to resolve his conflicted feelings.

"What am I gonna do?"

He whispered to himself, praying for an answer. His intuition told him to talk to Aurora and hope for the best. Rubbing his left ring finger, he wondered what the outcome could be.

 _Please...don't screw this up._

He thought to himself as he drifted to sleep, he has a choice to make.


	14. Chapter 14-Feel Again, Heal Within

A few weeks had passed since Nick's exorcism; he finally slept without fear of attacks and could at last feel happy about life. He trained for American Ninja Warrior again, Aurora returned to her film studies and spent the weeks cramming her homework while Nick assisted her with the video work as best he could. He mentored her by teaching her about being a producer and shooting on location as a videographer.

As the summer was reaching the end, Aurora had to turn in the finished video she and Nick made together.

She grabbed her backpack after slipping the flash drive into it, slipping it over her shoulders and turning to Nick in the kitchen.

"Okay, I'm off. Wish me luck."

"Yeah, good luck kiddo. You got this."

He fist bumped her before she left to catch the subway, her classes went as usual. Art of Film in the morning, Scripting for Electronic Media before lunch and various other film related classes before reaching her personal favorite, Videography and Editing. It was always great to see her professor react to her work with great delight.

This particular project she made with Nick, thoroughly impressed him. Calling " _The Girl in the Shadows_ ", it took in for grading and told Aurora this was some of the best work he's seen in the class in years. Flattered by his compliments, she prayed this meant a good grade. But she didn't know is the Professor was also going to pass onto the school to display her work on their YouTube page so _anyone_ could see it.

Meanwhile Nick was at home as he finished up a refreshing shower, noticing his drain was clogging up. He heard Aurora step into the door and dropping her bag onto her usual chair spot.

"Hey, Aurora!" He called out as she walked to his door. Knocking first to avoid awkward surprises, she stepped in.

"What's up?" She asked,

"My bathroom is clogged, do you have anything to fix that?"

"Oh yeah, it looks simple. I'll just get a drain snake and fix that in no time." She replied,

Pulling open her bathroom sink doors, hanging on a hook was a coiled wire with Velcro shaped spikes on the square head. She unrivaled the wire and squeezed the head down the pipe, once she hit the clog she twisted and pulled a few times before the clog came loose. The water flowed without issues now and as she pulled the wire back up, a dark gray hairy clump was stuck to the head.

"Ooh, that looks gross." Nick's face in contorted in disgust.

Aurora went to grab the blob off when she felt something small hard in her fingers.

"Wait, there's something here."

"What?"

"I don't know yet. I gotta clean it up, I'll get what I need at the store this week." She replied after sealing it away in a plastic bag in the meantime.

"Okay, well thanks for fixing the drain. So tell me, how was school?"

She talked as they walked out to the living room,

"Oh, my Professor liked a lot so hopefully I'll get a good grade."

"Sure hope so. You busted your ass to make that."

"Well, yeah. But I couldn't have done without your help." She replied,

"Nah, that was all you."

She smiled at Nick's belief in her, and decided to ask Nick something.

"So what's going on?"

"About what?" He asked in return,

"You, going home."

"I told you, I feel at home here. Besides, I haven't heard from them despite numerous attempts to contact my family."

"I'm sorry, I thought they would let you come now since your exorcism..." She looked down, feeling sad for him.

"Don't be, I'll figure something out. I've been through hard times before."

Aurora nodded in agreement, remembering how he and Veronique had to move in with relatives while working on the Ghost Adventures documentary. She placed a hand on his shoulder and he bent down a bit with open arms, enveloping her in warm hug.

"It's okay." Nick spoke in his soft voice, "I'll be alright."

Night had approached as they finished dinner; Aurora sat on a lounge chair staring out at the stars. She turns over and sees Nick lost in thought on the couch, so she lifts up from her spot and sits next to him.

"Hey, what's up?"

He glanced at her with his eyes before looking back, sighing as though he had a lot on his mind.

"It feels great to be free from...whatever that was attached to me."

She nodded, listening with content.

"I can't be sure on what happened regarding how I invited in...maybe investigating the Demon House with Zak and the others."

Aurora paused, hesitating to tell him what she saw during the exorcism, but decided it was best to just tell him.

"Nick..."

He turned to face her, sensing the distress in her voice.

"I...saw a vision of what happened when _it_ looked at me."

His face contorted in concern,

"What...did you see?"

She gulped, then spoke in a slight stammer.

"Zak felt so angry and envious that you turned on him that he unknowing caved to his negativity and sent an entity from the Demon House on you. To make you lose everything that you hold dear; friends, family and your will since he felt betrayed and wanted revenge."

Nick shook his head in anger,

"I didn't betray him, if anything he turned Ghost Adventures into something it wasn't. He wanted to seek out the demonic...you know how he is, ready for a challenge. It just felt like for me it was time for a change so I pursued other things in the paranormal..."

He paused, Aurora gazed at his eyes while feeling bad about the turn od events.

"But I never thought...he'd do such a thing...what am I gonna do?"

She rubbed a hand on his shoulder,

"Well, you beat whatever came your way because that's who you are. Besides you still have your daughters that love you despite everything. And yes, many of us, your fans were sad that you left Ghost Adventures but we're still here to support you."

He looked at her as she continued,

"You never gave up on your dreams, just like you taught me. You gotta learn to love yourself and everything else will fall in place."

He smiled warmly at her, then spoke again.

"Why do you believe in me so much? I'm just a man."

"No, you're not just a man. You, Nick, are a person that anyone would be lucky to have in their lives. There are battles every day that you face that not every person can see, yet you stay strong and positive. That doesn't make you weak, you're stronger than you know and change lives. I'm glad to have you here."

Nick smiled at her encouragement, he reminisced about the night she played a song for him. His heart swelled with warming emotion; there really is someone in this world that truly cares for him.

As he gazed at the peaceful, hopeful stare in her fern green eyes, he could feel serenity that he hadn't felt in some time. She very well could be the person he craved to provide unconditional love, could she be what he was searching for?

He shifted to face her more, which Aurora noticed realizing his unspoken intent. She saw his warm brown eyes shift up and down, throbbing pounding heartbeat hit her ribs as blood rushed up to her face as he inched closer slowly closing his eyes.

But just before the abyss across the couch could be crossed, she leaned back with slight tilt of her head while feeling the crimson heat burning under her cheeks.

Confused, he straightened back out with his face contorted in concern.

"What's wrong?" He asked,

"It's...it's just..." She hesitated,

"I thought...you liked me." Nick replied,

"No, I do. I really do like you a lot." She paused in reassurance,

"It's just I only want you to be happy, something I can't provide if it were only gonna fulfill my fangirl fantasies."

"I...I don't understand." He said, rather confused.

"I want to love you as a friend and be a protector of your family. I can't risk destroying our friendship and your family life by crossing a line. Besides...you're still a married man and..."

She paused, nervous to reveal a secret.

"...I'm a virgin. I can't let my first time be taken like this."

Nick looked down; feeling that he crossed an unspoken line while believing it was safe to do so.

"I'm sorry..." He said in melancholy voice,

"It's okay, don't worry about it. I'm very flattered."

"I can sleep out here if that would make you feel better..."

"No, Nick. Don't do that, let's just enjoy the rest of the night." She smiled, lifting up from the couch to the kitchen.

While hiding her blushing face, her conscious could rest now.

 _That was too close..._

Part of her wondered what could have occurred just then, but it was not worth the risk what they already had.

Nick saw her standing there, walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. She turns to face him, he opens his arms as a peace offering. While leaning against his chest, his heart was calm and strong. Nestling his head above hers, her blushing steamed away. The enclosement between them both felt inviting and safe.

"I'm so sorry. I hope you can forgive me and we can stay friends."

"Oh, of course."

As the night passed, they enjoyed a home cooked chicken dinner and watched a TV movie together.

Both went to bed around midnight, each slept in their own room. Aurora laid there, still rattling her brain on how could she blow a chance like that. But in good conscious she couldn't do that to him. She's been through a torn family and struggled to cope with knowing her father, she would not let Annabelle and Chloe go through that same fate.

Nick was also lying in bed alone, he was grateful for Aurora to tell him the truth about her feelings towards him though sad that romance had again slipped from him...but maybe romance isn't what he needed. She was someone who genuinely cared about his well-being, providing unconditional, unromantic love. Something he thought no girl would do since he wasn't exactly bad looking and a paranormal celebrity no less.

But both of them relaxed, knowing that at least they had their friendship which can often last even longer than romance and that was something to be cherished.

As Nick and Aurora nestled to sleep, both could drift in a safe slumber. There was still much to accomplish ahead of them, together.


	15. Chapter 15-Don't Fear the Reaper

The next few days were very busy between Nick working hard to train for American Ninja Warrior and researching locations for his new show idea, Paranormal Lockdown. Aurora was exhausting her mind with final exams, thesis essays and turning in the last of her video projects for school.

On their down time, Nick and Aurora would go bowling again, more sight-seeing in the city or just stay home and watch some good movies. They especially enjoyed the TV movie and even though the channel was geared toward women, the suspenseful thrillers were still entertaining to stick with the stories. Other nights, they would branch off and just do their own thing to decompress from the stresses of their busy schedules.

On one particular night, Aurora was in her own bathroom and had her supplies together to clean the grayish glob that she pulled from Nick's bathroom drain. Ripping the glob apart to find the object, it fell to the tile floor with a metallic _clink_. Curious, she picked it off the floor and could feel it was circular and hollow.

 _What the..._

Very slowly pulling the dirty hairs and grayish debris from the object, the dulled luster of gold gleamed through with bumpy surface of tiny gemstones. Grabbing a rag, she wrapped the object with some cleaning agent and after an intense few minutes of meticulous rubbing, the object was clear of debris and clean like new.

Instantly, it hit Aurora what it was...

 _Oh my God...it...its Nick's wedding ring!_

She thought to herself as she lifted from her seat and hurried to the hall where Nick was sitting.

"Hey, Nick. Look what I found."

Nick quickly turned as she held in her hand to show him, his mouth dropped in surprise.

"Where-where did you find it?"

"Remember that grayish glob from your drain, somehow it was mixed in that mess."

Nick grasped it and gazed in amazement.

"Wow, great job cleaning it."

She smiled then contorted to concern,

"Did it slip off in the shower or something?"

Nick gazed it in his hand and as he tried to recall, flashbacks of the day that he nearly lost his life came flooding back. He stammered over his words, trying to get upset again over the events of that day.

"I...threw it...down the drain. I was so distraught from everything that happened..."

He paused as Aurora listened intently.

"You know, from losing my family, fighting that entity and then I hurt you in my anger. I broke down, I ripped it off and threw it ring down my bathroom drain. But before I could do more harm, you came to my rescue."

He closed his hand with his ring, looking up and holding Aurora in a strong hug.

"I still apologize enough and I also can't thank you enough. You've been here when it seemed no one else was."

Aurora held in slight sadness, moving her head a bit before speaking in a soft tone.

"But I didn't help bring you back to your family..."

Confused, Nick parted a bit to look at her.

"What, what you do mean?"

She sighed.

"When you were sedated in the hospital, Veronique came in to see you. But when she saw you were missing your ring, she got angry thinking you moved on. After she gave me the photo of Annabelle and Chloe, she said that she doesn't know when you'll see them again but I begged her to let them see their father."

Tears begin to well up in Aurora's eyes as her voice started to break,

"I'm sorry." She sniffled.

"I didn't want this to happen. I wanted to help you, but I only made things worse-"

Nick's embrace cut her off mid-sentence.

"Shh, don't do this to yourself. Please don't be sorry, you did nothing wrong. You let me worry about my family."

He caressed her head as she sniffed again,

"You did help me, Aurora. You saved my life, you gave a safe place to stay and made your home my home. Don't worry about me, I'll figure it out. Like you said, I'm stronger than I know...well, so are you."

She parted a bit to look up at him, her face still red and tears streaming down her cheeks. Nick swiped her tears with his hands, staring into through her glasses into her eyes sending a calming vibe.

"This time, you were my hero. I'll be forever grateful for that. You're so driven to move on from what's happened to you and that takes great courage. You're something special and don't let anyone or anything make you think otherwise."

She smiled with light laugh and hugged him again, her heart now elated with delight. Nick held her with a light caress, they part as he touches her face.

In the weeks that followed, Aurora's video project "The Girl in the Shadows" got such a passing grade that the President of the School wishes to passes it onto production companies that he contacts with after graduation.

Nick gets contacted though American Ninja Warrior fell through, Destination America called that they loved the sizzle reel for Paranormal Lockdown and both need to travel to Boston for meetings. So they rode together to a local club in Boston so Nick can show her around.

In the car as they sped through the rain, Nick gave Aurora a knuckle touch.

"Good job in there, kiddo. Really hope you get a job in your field."

"Yeah, but if they do, I'd have to leave New York for Boston."

"Would you do it?" He asked,

"Well, for a job I'd have to think about it. So I asked them to let me think it over, that's a big move."

"Well, if you do come and you need help packing, I can help you out."

"Thanks, you really don't have to."

"Oh, yes I do."

"But you'll be busy too if they pick up Paranormal Lockdown."

"Never too busy to help a friend."

She smiled and looked down the rain soaked streets,

"So where are we going?"

"It's a great place called the Tavern's Inn in South Boston."

"Great, we should celebrate. Though I'm gonna leave the liquid spirits to you."

Nick laughed at her joke,

"Fine by me, and if I get too 'possessed', you can drive us."

She laughed back while nodding in agreement.

They get to the Inn, they order their entrees and drinks. Aurora ordered her usual chicken strips and curly fries while Nick got his Baby Back ribs, mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables.

"Mmm, you like ribs, Nick?" Aurora asked before sipping on her cranberry juice.

"Oh, yeah. They're my favorite." He ripped off a rib and bit into one with a savory expression on his face.

"Well, maybe I'll have to make some for you sometime."

His face sprung up in delight,

"Yeah, that'd be great."

They smiled as they heard a song come over the radio while some people were dancing in the middle of the floor. Looking over, Nick pointed over the crowd.

"You wanna go?"

"What? To dance? With You?" She asked, trying to speak over the song.

"Yeah, come on. Let's have some fun."

He held out his hand and led her to the dance floor as the song _Don't Fear the Reaper_ played.

Nick swung to face him and started to show some of his dance moves, Aurora smiled as she too began to join on the upbeat pace of the song. She started to throw in dance of her own, jumping and crisscrossing her legs on the legs, spinning around and just letting herself move to the song.

 _All our times have come_

 _Here but now they're gone_

 _Seasons don't fear the reaper_

 _Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain...we can be like they are_

 _Come on baby...don't fear the reaper_

 _Baby take my hand...don't fear the reaper_

 _We'll be able to fly...don't fear the reaper_

 _Baby I'm your man..._

Some patrons saw Aurora's moves and began to cheer for her, overhearing them Nick held out his hand again. She grabbed again and he spun her around under his arm, twirling away from him as the crowd erupted to whoops and whistling. The energy was high in the room as the excitement and ecstasy of fun flooded through the facility.

 _Valentine is done_

 _Here but now they're gone_

 _Romeo and Juliet_

 _Are together in eternity...Romeo and Juliet_

 _40,000 men and women everyday...Like Romeo and Juliet_

 _40,000 men and women everyday...Redefine happiness_

 _Another 40,000 coming everyday...We can be like they are_

 _Come on baby...don't fear the reaper_

 _Baby take my hand...don't fear the reaper_

 _We'll be able to fly...don't fear the reaper_

 _Baby I'm your man..._

When the song reached the instrumental portion, they each showed off their own moves again before rejoining to wrap the song. Just over crowd's cheers, the lyrics emitted from the speakers.

 _Love of two is one_  
Here but now they're gone  
Came the last night of sadness

 _And it was clear she couldn't go on_  
Then the door was open and the wind appeared  
The candles blew then disappeared  
The curtains flew then he appeared...saying don't be afraid  
Come on baby...and she had no fear  
And she ran to him...then they started to fly  
They looked backward and said goodbye...she had become like they are  
She had taken his hand...she had become like they are  
Come on baby...don't fear the reaper

As the song came to its end and Aurora twirled into Nick's arms, the crowd erupted in cheers and whistles as they felt each other's pounding heart rates. Walking back to their table, they sat down trying to catch their breath as other patrons came over to complement their dancing skills.

As Aurora looked past the crowd to watch others dancing, she saw a familiar face walk up to them as her face dropped in dread.

"What? What's wrong?" Nick said in concern, following her gaze. His eyes meet the tall, blonde woman before him who looked sad and a bit annoyed.

"Veronique? What you doing here?" Nick asked a bit nervous.

"Just came over...to say nice job and...I hope you're happy." She said with slight restraint.

Nick stood up quickly before she could walk away,

"Wait, can we talk outside?" Nick asked.

Nick followed her outside as they walked through the glass doors, Aurora just played with the straw in her drink hoping for the best.

For what seemed like a half an hour, Nick and Veronique were seen talking, some sighs and steps away from each other, then back to talking again. After some silent nods in agreement, they walked back in separate directions. Nick sat back in his booth with Aurora while he watched Veronique leave with another man.

Nick sighed and turned to Aurora before talking again,

"Veronique has a new boyfriend, thinking I had moved on so she wants to file for a legal separation until we can figure out what to do. She says I can come home, she told me the girls that I was working on something extremely important for work while they missed me dearly."

"I'm sorry, Nick. I hope you two can reconcile."

"I do too. But don't worry," he touched her hand, "None of this is your fault, you understand?"

Though sad, she nodded.

"What about Veronique?"

"She's gonna stay in our house for the girls until we can find a solution."

They finish their meal and go back to the hotel. The next morning, Nick drives Aurora to the airport back to New York. He pulls up the terminal and parks the car, they sat in silence for what seemed timeless.

"So, what happens to you now?" Aurora asked,

"I'm gonna go home and visit the girls. Next time, I come to New York I can pick up my stuff from your apartment."

She nodded, then felt a hand cover her own.

"Good luck with everything and we'll be touch."

She hugged him, got her luggage and went through the terminal as she waited for her plane to board.

On the way, she gets a text from Zak:

 _Aurora, can you please come to the GAC office in NYC as soon as possible? We have a meeting with the Travel Channel reps to talk to you. -Zak_

Her heart dropped to her stomach, hastily she texts a reply.

 _Why? Is something wrong? -Aurora_

A few seconds passed and then a reply appeared on screen.

 _We'll discuss it later. -Zak_

Aurora gulped in nervousness,

 _What could Zak want to talk about?_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Don't Fear the Reaper_ song and lyrics (c) Blue Oyster Cult.


	16. Chapter 16-Forgiving the Past

A few days after returning to New York, Zak texted her that he awaiting her arrival at the Travel Channel headquarters. Throughout her trip to get there, her mind raced with questions.

 _What could this be about?_

 _Did he find out about Nick and me?_

 _Is it about me not being on the show?_

Unanswered questions only raised Aurora's anxiety as she headed into the elevator to the conference room.

Zak was sitting in one of the chairs across from her, shook her hand and sat down while they waited for the representatives to arrive.

The awkward moment of silence passed through them and even though he was happy to see Aurora again, Zak didn't look pleased at all.

But before either could speak, two men in dark suits came into the room. Zak and Aurora stood to greet them and shake their hands respectively.

"Miss Gibbons, thank you for coming to meet us. I'm Matt Thompson and this is my Human Resources President, Craig Mott." Matt spoke calmly.

Nodding in acknowledgement, Zak was first to speak up.

"Aurora, I know you've been away from the show to graduate with your Bachelor's Degree. And I know you had to take time off for a 'family' emergency a few months ago."

She contorted in confusion,

"Okay."

"Well, I was on YouTube and I found the short film you made for school. It was on the University's channel..."

As Zak spoke, Aurora tuned his voice out as her heart sank to her stomach.

 _Oh...shoot. Not good..._

"Do you mind telling me how Nick was involved with the project?"

Aurora gulped,

"Well, how it is a problem?" She retorted.

"Because you lied to me. You said a school friend was at your apartment and I'm aware of Nick's situation."

"Ookay, so why are we here?" Aurora asked, even more confused.

"Miss Gibbons, if you can please tell us why you lied to Zak and answer whether or not you wish to stay on Ghost Adventures, this will affect your current employment with us."

Realizing her future film employment is also at stake, her mind raced with wanting to keep her promise to not tell Zak she helped Nick, she discretely texted him as they talked amongst themselves.

 _Nick, I'm with Zak and the Travel Channel reps. They're asking_ about _you and why you were staying with me and I promised not to say anything. What should I say? -Aurora_

A few minutes passed in discussion until a ringtone blared from Matt's suit jacket. He pulled out his cellphone and excused himself to take it. Answering it, he spoke briefly before walking back to the table and putting it on speaker.

"Go ahead." Matt said to the phone.

 _'How are you doing guys? It's Nick and there's something I need to clear up, I was staying in New York City and I asked Aurora to help make a video project and gave her permission to use it for her video studies, and...I asked her not to say anything to Zak about the fact I was staying with her because I wanted what happened between Zak and myself not taint Aurora's reputation."_

They paused as they heard the truth from Nick's voice, Zak spoke first.

"Well, thanks for clearing that up and I hope you're doing better now."

"Yeah, thanks for everything."

Aurora could sense in their voices that they forgave each other, but time has changed things between them. She could only hope for the best as Matt hung up his phone, she owed Nick big time for sticking his neck out for her like that.

"Is that what happened?" Zak asked her.

"Yes, that's what happened and I'm sorry I lied to all of you."

Zak nodded in understanding, she turned to Matt and Craig.

"And the video I made with Nick impressed my school so much, I've been given more opportunities to work with production companies and I feel Ghost Adventures had changed into something below my talents, not wanting to feed into the dark, sinister turn the show had taken."

Understanding this and after some intense negotiations, Aurora was relieved of her contract with Ghost Adventures and gave a hardy goodbye to her former leader.

"Well, I'm sorry to see you go. But I understand you want to move on to bigger and better things. It was great having you on the crew."

Zak shook her hand and gave a half-hug.

"Thanks, it was a great adventure you, Nick and Aaron and you guys will always be family. Thank you..."

She walked away from the conference room, in slight nervousness.

 _I'm graduating really soon and now I'm unemployed...what am I gonna do now?_

That night, Aurora was preparing her graduation cape and gown for the ceremony that next week when the ringtone blared on her computer.

It was a Google Hangouts call and the username read:

 _Nick Groff  
_  
Clicking on the Answer icon, she sat down in front of her screen as the connection set.

 _"Hey, kiddo. How's it going?"_

"Pretty good, just getting my cape and gown together."

 _"Congratulations, I'm real happy for you. That's a good thing. Welcome to the real world now."_ He smiled with his usual light laugh.

"Yeah, right?" Aurora smiled back.

"I know." He paused, "So how'd it go with Zak and..."

"They terminated my contract with Ghost Adventures and now I have no employment after graduation." She tilted down in nervousness.

 _"Aww, I'm sorry to hear that."_

"No, don't be. I should thank you for your help at the meeting, you really didn't have to call them and stick your neck out like that..."

 _"Yes, I did. I made you promise not to say anything, that almost got you in trouble and that was wrong of me. I'm really sorry."_

"It's okay, apology accepted."

 _"Hey, wait. What about that company in Boston? They said they were interested in you after graduation, why not contact them about working?"_

"You mean, legitimately move to Boston?"

 _"If you want to...you can."_

Aurora paused, maybe Nick was asking her to be closer so he could see her again.

"Wish you could come to the ceremony, but go spend time with the girls. They went without you long enough. But you can watch the live stream if you want on the school's website."

 _"Thanks, I just might have to do that."_

"Well, I gotta go and finish getting ready."

 _"Okay, have a good night and please...If you ever need anything, do not hesitate to ask."_

"Thanks, Nick. Goodnight."

 _"Night."_

As Aurora sat by the computer screen as Nick's face clicked off, she stared in contemplation before reaching for a business card and opening up her email.

 _This is a big step, but it's worth it..._


	17. Chapter 17- 'Til I Return to You

Over a few weeks had passed since Aurora graduated from her University with a Bachelor's Degree. Not long after word got out on her professional grade talents with Video Production, job offers came flooding in through phone calls and emails.

Hearing back from the Film Company in Boston, one project in particular was a feature film is taking place aboard in Ireland where she's been asked to be a Production Assistant, which paid very well but it was going to take over a year to shoot. So reluctantly, Aurora had to pack up her apartment, put most of her belongings in a storage unit and move out of her apartment. Even Nick offered to help her move, she decided not to bother him and let him spend time with his family and pull his life back together.

She was reminiscing the whole time about the home she made for herself and helped Nick get back on his feet. Flashes of memories came back to her as she packed his guest room before he returned home. The last of the boxes were lifted out of the room and she closed the door for good on her old home.

While relaxing in her hotel room, getting ready to take her long hour flight, she said goodbye to everyone she knew except for one person. Her phone buzzed on the desk as she received a text message,

 _Hey, I'm in the city for some meetings and promotions. Can we met before you leave?-Nick_

 _Sure, what time?_ She replied, hitting Send.

 _Tonight. I'll let you when I'm free. –Nick_

About an hour later in the night, walking down the damp pavement illuminated by dim orange streetlights, she relaxes on a bench grasping her phone. Also looking around for her own awareness, hoping Nick would show soon.

Nick was in fact, standing against a tree not far from her, thinking of what to say.

She's leaving in the morning, so you better say what you need to. Could be a long time before you see her again…

Turning and seeing was in fact at the bench, he held a flat box wrapped in twine and brown paper, tapping his fingers in contemplation while trying to breathe calmly. Exhaling slowly, he stepped away and speaks out in the dark,

"Aurora?" He muttered softly,

She perked up watching a dark, tall figure step closer revealing his face in streetlight's glow.

"Hey, what's up Nick?" She beamed a joyous smile while hugging him.

"Congratulations again on graduating, you should be proud."

"Yeah, I am."

"So what's next? Did that company in Boston ever get back to you?" He asked curiously.

"Yes, actually. I'm going to Ireland for a while, so it'll be a while before I settle into Boston."

"Oh, okay. Well, Katrina and I start shooting Paranormal Lockdown at the Hinsdale House later this month…so…I guess, we'll both be busy."

They both drooped their shoulders in sadness, but Nick perked up to speak again.

"For what it's worth, I'll never forget the compassion you showed me…I hope to hear from you, let me know how you're doing out there."

"Yeah, I will for sure. You just be careful with the cases you take, be safe and I'll be watching it when it comes out…if the director doesn't keep me up too late."

They lightly laugh in unison, and then she noticed the package in Nick's hand.

"What's that you got, Nick?"

"Oh my God, where are my manners?" He holds it out to her.

Grasping the box, she pulls off the twine and rips the paper off. Pulling the cloth from the box, she put the box down and unraveled the dark cloth. It was a dark stone grey zip-up hoodie that was much larger than she was. Holding it up to the light, she stammered what to say.

"Do you recognize it?" Nick asked.

"Sort of. Have I seen it before-"

It clicked in her mind as she stared at it more, recognizing it from a very long time ago.

"It's the jacket I gave you at the Halden Mansion, remember?"

"Yeah! You let me use it while resting at base, that experience shook me to the core."

"Yeah, well I want you to have it now. So I'll always be there for you." Nick replied with a smile.

"Aww, thank you."

She hugged him once more and as she parts from him, she catches the hint of gold on his left hand. She opened her mouth while folding the jacket onto her arm, but before she could speak, Nick already answered her.

"Veronique and I were still separated, but I'm keeping my ring on until we figure this out."

She nodded in understanding as Nick spoke again,

"Even if things don't improve, I'm still gonna keep it…just in case, someone…"

Nick paused as he stopped talking, staring back into Aurora's eyes. She blinked and nodded her head a bit. Realizing he had to rethink his words, his throat nearly shut in nervousness before he spoke again.

"Aurora…" He paused as he tried to muster up the right words to say since it could a long time before she saw her again.

"Do you think…we'll ever…see each other again?"

Aurora stood in silence, her face contorted in shock and surprise knowing the actual intent of his question.

"I…don't know what will happen, but…I'll be thinking about you always."

They venture close as Nick envelops her in his arms, holding her head softly against his frame. Holding each other in place, just wanting to feel the warmth of each other's presence. Nick thought back on that night when he nearly kissed her and was almost tempted to try again, but his mind kept bickering him.

 _No, don't do that, man. She won't do it, she's protecting herself from heartbreak and losing another friend._

 _But she won't lose me…I just want to show her that I genuinely care about her._

Deciding to still show her affection before she leaves for an unknown length of time, her head lifted from his chest as the fluorescence of fireflies blinked all around them. Captivated in the moment, Nick tilted down to press his lips on her smooth, soft forehead. As she tilted back, they gazed into their eyes as they depart with smiles in a wordless goodbye.

Reluctantly, they slipped gazes away from each other, a strong vibe still hung heavy in the still approaching autumn air. Both were venturing into the unknown with the paranormal…but they didn't have answers yet to the most important questions in their minds:

Will they see each other again?

THE END?


End file.
